Swatek had a tough night in Bad Homburg, Germany last week, when she withdrew from the semi-finals with a gastrointestinal ailment.
Updated – Sunday, July 2 at 10:13 AM
London: World No. 1 Iga Swiatek has put aside concerns about his fitness to start preparing for Wimbledon after withdrawing a day before the semi-final in Bad Homburg.
Swatek had a tough night in Bad Homburg, Germany last week, when she withdrew from the semi-finals with a gastrointestinal ailment.
“I had a stomachache. Don’t know if something was wrong. Later in the day, I felt fine, so I was pretty sure everything was going to be alright,” she told the media on Saturday.
Swatek, who faces Julene at Wimbledon on Monday, said she has picked up the pace on grass this year, which she attributes to a more positive outlook.
Discussing a challenging match against Viktorija Golubic in 2019, Swatek stressed the importance of focus. This year, she said, she has put more effort into training and mastering the grass surface.
“I feel this time [is] I was able to focus on the practice the first year and actually learned a lot. So hopefully I’ll be able to use it in the game,” Swatek said.
Swatek noted that the transition from Roland Garros to Wimbledon could be tricky because of the quick turnaround time between events. Last month, she won the French Open for the third time. After a two-week break, she traveled to Bad Homburg and reached the semi-finals, the greatest distance of her career to advance in a grass-court event.
It’s a good sign heading into Wimbledon, which has historically been her worst performance of the four Grand Slams. Swatek has a 5-3 record in three fights. Two years ago, she reached the fourth round, and last year she fell to the third round.
“Of course, I believe in the best players, they can play on all surfaces. I want to be the kind of player who can play well on grass and feel comfortable,” Swatek said.
“I’m trying to get the most out of my skills. Last year, I felt like we and my coaches did a really good job of touching the ball, chipping back and playing chipping at times,” she added.
Swatek hopes to become the first player since Serena Williams in 2015 to win both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year.
