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Tennis Legend Boris Becker was all praise for World No. 1 Iga Swiatek after the latter's win at the quarterfinals of the Italian Open. Becker applauded the mental maturity of the Pole despite her age.
Swiatek is having a great season in 2024 so far. Despite the early wobble in the form of a loss in the early rounds of the Australian Open at the hands of Linda Noskova, the Pole has bounced back by winning three titles at the WTA 1000 level with victories at Qatar, Indian Wells, and Madrid. These have enabled Swiatek to solidify her position at the No.1 ranking.
In the ongoing Italian Open, the Pole has looked in sensational form, progressing to the semifinals of the tournament without dropping a set. After her win in quarterfinals, she was asked if she felt differently after each victory.
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Swiatek replied saying that the context of the match decided how she felt about winning it. She referred to the epic final against Aryna Sabalenka in the recently concluded Madrid Open, and confessed the victory to be an emotional one.
"For sure it’s not always the same. Every match tastes differently. When you play like 80 matches a year, you feel like it’s a routine.. sometimes you feel really great emotions. Like after the Madrid final it was really emotional.....But today I’m proud of myself because I felt like I’m playing better and it was for sure the best day for me in Rome.” on X (Formerly Twitter)
After listening to this interview, Boris Becker praised the maturity of Swiatek and stated that even though the World No. 1 was young in terms of age, she conducted herself like a veteran on the court.
"Sounds like a veteran…yet IGA is still a very young woman ! Respect" on X (Formerly Twitter)
Iga Swiatek will face Coco Gauff in Italian Open SF
Iga Swiatek enjoys a massive 9-1 lead in the head to head record against Coco Gauff whom she will meet in the semifinals of the Italian Open on May 16. The pair first met in the Miami Open in 2022 and the last meeting between the duo was in the WTA Finals in Cancun last year. Both the encounters was won by the Polish player.
Not only does Swiatek lead the head-to-head, but she also has inflicted three bagels to Coco Gauff in the limited time the duo has been playing. The most marquee match between the duo was the French Open final of 2022. It was Gauff's maiden Major final. Swiatek won the match to win her second Grand Slam at Roland Garros.
The only win for Gauff against reigning World No. 1 came in the semi-final of the Cincinnati Open last year. Gauff went on to win the title by defeating Karolina Muchova in the final.
