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Iga Swiatek has been a stumbling block in Coco Gauff's career ever since the latter made her WTA tour debut. Swiatek has defeated Gauff in all of their six meetings to date.
The pair have faced each in various stages of tournaments over the last three years, from the first round to the finals. They first locked horns in the semifinals of the Italian Open in 2021, where Swiatek emerged victorious 7-6 (3), 6-3.
They faced each other four times last year, most notably in the title clash at Roland Garros, but Gauff failed to pick up a single win. Most recently, Swiatek beat the American teenager at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last month.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of her BNP Paribas Open campaign in Indian Wells, Gauff stated that while Swiatek has achieved a lot in recent months, she doesn't see the World No. 1 as an unbeatable player.
"Obviously she [Iga Swiatek] is doing really well but no one looks at her like some impossible goal. I mean, she's just a tennis player. I am not trying to downplay her achievements, she's beaten me a lot of times," she said.
Gauff expressed hope to see herself dominating at the same level of Swiatek one day.
"But I feel like you can't look at the game that way," she added. "This is a person that's excelling at the level right now, but you can't look at it I guess in a far way because you want that to be you one day."
Gauff also said that while Swiatek deserves all the plaudits, she shouldn't be put on a pedestal by her opponents.
"She's one of those players that you kinda have to learn from but also I guess not put too high on a pedestal because that's going to be your opponent at the end of the day. So I think it's like a catch-22 there," she stated.
The American likened the situation to playing against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on the men's tour.
"That's like now with a lot of the guys, with the Big 3, Rafa and Novak," she added. "I think it's kinda the same way where the guys have to put them on that pedestal but when they play them, you can't think about everything that they have done on the court."
"There is a target on my back" - Iga Swiatek on added pressure ahead of Indian Wells 2023 title defense
Defending Indian Wells champion Iga Swiatek believes that the high expectations from fans and critics are adding to the pressure on her this year. In a conversation with the media ahead of the tournament, Swiatek stated that heading into Indian Wells this year is different to how it was last year.
"I felt like ooh, that’s not enough. I feel like there is a little bit of a target on my back, which I didn’t feel last year. So it’s a different situation and I have to adjust to that," she opined.
Iga Swiatek will face Claire Liu in the Round of 64 at Indian Wells on Saturday, March 11.
