Swiatek reflects on her Middle East run and results in Doha and Dubai.
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek may have had a rough Dubai exit but the 22-year-old Pole is still “proud” of herself and overall happy with how she did and carried herself during the Middle East swing.
In her first post-Australian Open tournament, Swiatek won her third consecutive Doha title without a dropped set. After winning Doha in a very dominant way, Swiatek also came to a WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai as the top favorite and targeted to win her first title in the Emirati event.
After winning her opening three matches in Dubai and pushing her winning streak to seven matches, Swiatek didn’t look her usual self in the Dubai semifinal as Anna Kalinskaya upset the Pole 6-4 6-4.
In her post-match press conference, Swiatek blamed tiredness for her defeat and also admitted she was “angry” with everything that happened on the court. But after taking two days to analyze and reflect, Swiatek is doing better as she is now resting and looking forward to Indian Wells and Miami. Also, Swiatek took a moment to congratulate Kalinskaya and Jasmine Paolini – who met in the Dubai final – which the Italian won.
Swiatek reflects on her Middle East swing
“So…my main thought is that I enjoyed the challenge and solving problems but now l’m glad to have some time to recover. Intense two tournaments, resilience, focus, some quality matches and great fights,” Swiatek said in a message posted on her X account.
“Overall I’m proud of myself and my team for these few weeks post-Melbourne. We did our best, I performed well, kept my standards high and I’m looking forward to sunny California.
“And let me say this again, what a week for Jasmine and Anna. Excited to see more players having deep runs and performing well.”
When Indian Wells kicks off on March 6th, Swiatek will be looking to win her second title in the desert and also clinch her second title of the 2024 season.