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Iga Swiatek found herself in a hole during the closing stages of her Eastbourne opener against local hope Heather Watson on Tuesday. The young Pole trailed 1-4 in the deciding set, but was able to dig deep and turn things around to eventually come away with a 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-5 win.
This was Iga Swiatek's maiden grasscourt match win on the WTA tour, which improved her win-loss record on the surface to 1-2. But there was a moment towards the end of the contest that generated a bit of controversy on Twitter, with some fans claiming that the 20-year-old had been guilty of gamesmanship.
That incident wasn't discussed during Iga Swiatek's post-match press conference though. Instead, the Pole evaluated her performance in detail, pointing out how she remained strong and showed faith in her own skills despite not having gotten used to playing on grass yet.
"I think I was just fighting, and even though grass is not the surface I understand completely, I kept believing that I can do it anyway," Swiatek said. "I have, you know, some weapons that I can use."
The 20-year-old added that she played more freely in the decider, which is something that she believes is crucial to success on the surface.
"When I became more loosened up in the third set, it helped me a lot," Swiatek added. "I think it's the key when you're playing on grass."
Iga Swiatek accused of "blatant hindrance" during the closing stages of her Eastbourne first-round win
While the match between Iga Swiatek and Heather Watson was close from start to finish, the last game was particularly edgy.
The Brit was serving to stay in the match at 5-6, 15-30 down, when she sent down a good body serve. Swiatek barely managed to get the return over the net and was at the mercy of Watson, who charged forward to swat the ball away for a winner.
But just as the Brit approached the net, Swiatek seemingly lost her balance and flailed her racket mid-air for a moment. The racket even hit the ground and made a small sound, following which Watson missed the easy putaway.
The umpire didn't issue a hindrance call to Iga Swiatek for her change in direction or her racket tap, thereby giving the Pole match point after nearly 3 hours of play. Swiatek subsequently sealed the deal at the first time of asking, which put her into the second round - where she will face Daria Kasatkina.
Iga Swiatek's movement on that 15-30 point did not sit well with a few fans on Twitter. Some of them claimed that Swiatek might have distracted Watson, with one of them going as far as to call it "blatant hindrance" from the young Pole.
But it is important to note that as per the 'Hindrance Rule' section of the WTA 2021 Rulebook, a player is to be docked a point only if their hindrance is ruled to have been "deliberate". And the lack of action from the umpire suggests that Iga Swiatek didn't deliberately distract Heather Watson, and therefore was not in violation of the law.
Upon closer inspection of the point, it becomes fairly clear that Swiatek got wrongfooted due to the slippery nature of the surface. That led to the Pole being thrown off-balance, which in turn caused her to involuntarily hit the ground with her racket.
Many fans subsequently came to Iga Swiatek's defense, pointing out how Heather Watson herself expressed no grievance with the Pole for her supposed act of gamesmanship.
