New tennis world No. 1 Iga Swiatek avoids rankings distraction and focuses on the right stuff
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WTA Finals champion Iga Swiatek said she had been distracted by the ranking race at other tournaments.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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CANCUN – WTA Finals champion Iga Swiatek said the poor playing conditions in Cancun forced her to focus on her game instead of being distracted by the prospect of regaining the world No. 1 ranking.
The four-time Grand Slam champion swept aside Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-0 to claim her first WTA Finals title, and return to the top of the rankings
The WTA conceded the 2023 edition of the Finals was “not a perfect event”, she did not feel safe
“The conditions that were kind of tricky also helped me to just, you know, focus on adjusting my footwork, my shots... that kept me busy from thinking about all of that. So today was... just being narrow with your head, only thinking about the right stuff,” Swiatek said.
The Polish star said she had been sidetracked by the ranking race at other tournaments and it had affected her performance.
“It played (in my mind) a lot in the US Open and the tournaments before, but I kind of learnt my lesson. This time I didn’t want it to have an impact on me... it’s hard not to think about stuff like that but, when I went on court, I knew that I had to focus on different things,” she said.
The 17th trophy of her career ensures that she will finish the season as No. 1 for a second straight year.
“The team that’s been with me the whole season, we had many ups and downs. This is for sure an up. We will have many more if we keep working like that,” said the julibant 22-year-old, who lost just 20 games across the tournament – a new record. The previous benchmark was held by Serena Williams, who conceded 32 games in 2012.
Cancun was named as venue for the US$9 million (S$12.2 million) WTA Finals, which brings together the top-eight singles players and doubles partnerships to conclude the season, less than two months before it started on Oct 29.
The tournament was supposed to conclude on Sunday but rain and strong winds meant the semi-final between Swiatek and Sabalenka was not completed until that day, with the final shunted to Monday.
The showpiece became a 59-minute masterclass from Swiatek, who lost to Pegula in their previous meeting in Montreal in August.
The American, 29, had impressed on her way to Monday’s final but she never looked capable of pulling off a repeat of her Canadian victory against three-time French Open champion Swiatek, who was sharper in every facet of her game.
Swiatek dominated on serve, and pulled Pegula all over the court with whipped groundstrokes that left her opponent flailing.
Pegula also struggled on serve and was broken five times, while coughing up 23 unforced errors compared to Swiatek’s six.
Swiatek – who gave up only one break point opportunity in the entire match, which Pegula was unable to convert – sealed victory in the sixth game of the second set when her opponent pulled a backhand return long.
Poland’s Iga Swiatek with the trophy after winning her final match against Jessica Pegula of the US, on Nov 6.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The New Yorker was gracious in defeat.
“Congrats on ending the year No. 1 and winning this tournament, it’s really incredible. You continue to push me to be a better player and I appreciate that aspect of it. I wish I could have done better today, but that’s not how it goes sometimes,” Pegula said.
“It just was one of those days when I felt like I was going for too much. And she was just playing super solid.”
Swiatek is the youngest WTA Finals champion since Petra Kvitova, then 21, won in Istanbul in 2011. She is also the second Polish winner after Agnieszka Radwanska won in Singapore in 2015. REUTERS, AFP
