Iga Swiatek ‘not like she was’ in 2022 ahead of US Open, believes former world No 2
Iga Swiatek participates in Wimbledon
Former world No 2 Alex Corretja has claimed Iga Swiatek is “not like she was” during her dominant 2022 season heading into the 2023 US Open.
The Spaniard feels the battle for the women’s title in New York could be “much closer than last year”, but still places the Pole “a little on top of the others.”
Swiatek had won six WTA titles in 2022 going into the US Open last year, having also compiled a remarkable 37-match winning streak earlier in the season. She triumphed at the hard-court major, defeating Ons Jabeur in the final.
In 2023, the 22-year-old has claimed four titles prior to the US Open – the Qatar Open, Stuttgart, the French Open and the Poland Open. Swiatek was also a finalist at WTA 1000 events in Dubai and Madrid.
The world No 1 reached the semi-finals at the WTA 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati in the lead-up to the US Open.
In an interview with Eurosport, Corretja declared that defending champion Swiatek is “not like she was” last year ahead of the final Grand Slam event of the season.
“The other players are also improving, and she’s also learning how to play with different situations. And she can’t just go and win every tournament. That’s almost impossible,” said the Spaniard.
“I think she has made a great process, and she is going to be ready for the US Open. I think you should put her there as one of the main favourites. I don’t know if she is the top favourite. But it might be much closer than last year probably when we saw the way she was dictating.
“But I think there is no reason why to worry that she’s not going to be ready. I think she will have an extremely good US Open and if someone wants to beat her, they need to play very well because she knows how to defend.
“She’s also attacking well and she has learned how to move her forehand a little bit quicker than before. I think her serve also at some points can be very precise and her return is always good. Her mentality is great. So I think you’ve got to put her a little on top of the others, just.”
The two-time French Open runner-up also discussed the return of former world No 1 and Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki to the US Open.
“It’s always nice to see someone that has a desire to come back and play because she knows that the toughness of the game and what you need to do to prepare is not just the play, is the preparation It’s like a nightmare, and you need to play a lot of practices physically,” said Corretja.
“Mentally, you need to move well, you need to come back again. It’s such a huge news, It’s beautiful to see that she has this passion to try to see how can she play. It’s totally different than before. This time I would say it’s more like, ‘Okay, let’s play, whatever happens it’s a gift’.
“I wish her the best because someone that shows that she’s been such a great player and after many years, she wants to come back after becoming mother. I think this is something very special and only for that. She deserves all the respect. Whatever happens on the match is good.”
Following her retirement in 2020, Wozniacki made her comeback to the tour in Montreal earlier this month, reaching the second round. The 33-year-old Dane also featured in Cincinnati last week, where she fell in the opening round.