World No 1 Iga Siwatek insisted the pressure of playing against Elena Rybakina did not play a factor as she lost for a fourth time in six meetings at the Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
Rybakina’s 6-3 4-6 6-3 victory snapped Swiatek’s 10-match winning streak at the tournament, as she set up a meeting against unseeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the final.
Swiatek’s 4-2 losing record against Rybakina has led to suggestions that the world No 1 struggles to deal with the pressure when she takes on the former Wimbledon champions, but she hit back at those accusations.
“I wasn’t feeling like a lot of pressure,” she insisted.
“Maybe a little bit in the third set, but still I think at the beginning the reason was kind of in me, not on the outside.
“Yeah, I doubted my serve a little bit in third set, and I’ll try to not, like, have situations like that, but for sure it wasn’t easy to see her winning her service games pretty easily and me, like, struggling basically on every game.
“I think at the end, you know, it also made a difference, but, you know, I was trying to get better. You know, maybe I just need more practice or something.
“It was just, you know, this kind of day where I served worse. I’ll try to be more consistent.
“I’m always trying to find solutions. You know, I’m not kind of giving up. But still, it wasn’t enough to win the whole match.
“So for sure it’s a positive thing that I was able to win the second set, but, you know, I’ll work hard to be able to win these kind of matches anyway.”
Rybakina suggested her ability to get the better of Rybakina is down to the mix of styles that works in her favour.
“I think it’s just the style of the game. Iga, she moves really well and she likes to dominate in the rally,” said Rybakina.
“With me, it’s difficult because I play fast, I play flatter, and also like to move the opponent.
“So it’s kind of, I think, a match-up where we are both pushing each other, both trying to dominate in the point. So I think of course also my serve helps a lot.
“That’s why some matches I win; some matches I lose. But it’s always tough for her to play against me and for me to play against her.
“It was a very tough match, like always, against Iga. Really happy that I won on clay. Gives confidence, of course.”
Rybakina’s powerful game appears to take Swiatek out of her comfort zone, with the player who could challenge the Pole for the world No 1 spot on current form played down the significance of this latest win.
“I was serving much better today, I think just because also you play against such a good player that you know that every point counts, and I was pushing myself,” said Rybakina.
“First two matches I was adapting a bit to the conditions, to the balls, and maybe I was serving a little bit more passive. Today I was going for the serve, was trying to change it a little bit.
“I think my return definitely improved from last year from both angles, and of course it depends on the opponent, a bit of the speed of the serve, and of course placement.
“Since we played with Iga many times, more or less I try to predict where she’s going to go, and really happy with the return and overall with the game.”