Iga Swiatek has pulled out of the Tennis in the Land in the last week before the US Open. The Pole announced that she would be taking a week off after left with an emptied tank in successive runs at last four WTA 1000 events.
The 4-time Grand Slam winner feels delighted to get some time to recuperate herself ahead of a tough title defense at Flushing Meadows.
“I would say my tank of fuel is pretty empty. Honestly, I’m not even going to kind of regret a lot because I’m happy that I’m going to have days off now,” said Swiatek.
The 22-year believes that she didn’t too much wrong in her loss to Coco Gauff in the final four in Cincy.
“Coco played great tennis,” Swiatek said.
“I think her first serve was better than most of the matches we played against each other, it was faster.
“She played more in (the court), even though she’s risking with that speed.
“I thought technically I did everything right. I was kind of surprised that I missed a couple of shots. But it happens. She really played a good match, so… It wasn’t easy.”
Swiatek revealed that her title defense at New York major wasn’t really something overwhelmingly on her mind during Toronto and Cincinnati campaigns.
The pole thinks that she didn’t need to undergo unnecessary mental fatigue while trying to think about big trophies.
“I haven’t really been thinking about that,” Swiatek replied when asked about the upcoming defense of her US Open title.
“I was just focused on this tournament. I know from my experience that being a defending champion is not easy.’
“I’m going to kind of take it easy on myself and just try to do everything step by step.’
“Last year’s tournament was also really tough. I could have been out in the fourth round. So I’ll just fight and I’ll see how it’s going to go.”
The US Open draw is scheduled to take place on Thursday in the next week and Swiatek will learn about her R1 opponent. She will be heading to New York as the top seed after Aryna Sabalenka missed her chance to grab the WTA #1 spot at Western and Southern Open. Extending her maiden stint as #1 ranked on Women’s tour, the last-year US Open Champion is set to tie Martina Hingis record of the 11th longest WTA world No. 1 streak.