Swiatek was ousted by Zheng in two sets in what was her first loss at Roland Garros since 2021.
Iga Swiatek was brutally honest when assessing her shock Paris Olympics semifinal loss to Zheng Qinwen, acknowledging that there was “a hole” in her backhand that the Chinese exploited and also revealing that she wasn’t a fan of playing matches daily because it was hampering her preparation.
On Thursday, world No. 7 Zheng became the first player since Maria Sakkari in 2021 to beat Swiatek on the clay courts of Roland Garros after ousting the four-time French Open champion 6-2 7-5.
Considering how dominant Swiatek has been at Roland Garros over the last couple of years, she entered the Zheng match as a huge favorite although the 2024 Australian Open finalist is also having a big year. But right from the start of the match, something was just off in Swiatek’s game and it all culminated in the world No. 1 blasting a stunning 36 unforced errors.
After the match, Swiatek was seen bursting into tears during one TV interview and that’s where she reflected on what happened on the court.
Swiatek on the reasons behind the loss to Zheng
“Without any doubts. In fact she played… I just had a hole in my backhand. It happens rarely because it is usually my most solid strike. I was not technically well positioned because of the stress and the fact that I played my games day by day. We didn’t have time to adjust that and work on that. I know that’s not the justification, but I tried to correct that during the match. Today it didn’t work at all. So, she used that to win the game,” Swiatek told Eurosport Poland.
While Swiatek had a rough day at the office, it should be also highlighted that Zheng was able to play very balanced tennis and she never fully allowed the Pole to get back into the match even though the world No. 1 was up by two breaks in the second set.
It is safe to say that Swiatek’s run at the Paris Olympics hasn’t gone as expected but the 23-year-old Pole will still have a chance to play for the bronze medal against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who lost to Donna Vekic in the remaining semifinal.
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