Wojciech Fibak In the entire history of tennis, I have not seen a person who fights for every point like Iga Świątek

February 25, 2023 Post a Comment

Robert Zieliński: In Qatar and Dubai, Iga Świątek outclassed her rivals, winning most of the sets 6:0, 6:1 Is it simply a matter of a very high form of the Polish woman and a slightly weaker disposition of her rivals, or can we already say that this is the moment when Iga jumped to an even higher level than before, unattainable for other tennis players and we can expect that in the coming months, years, will permanently dominate women's tennis, just like Serena Williams years ago? Wojciech Fibak: I have always believed in Iga and I have always admired her talent, her extraordinary concentration and bravery.

Because there are not many girls or tennis players who - when they lead 6: 1, 3: 0, they fight for every point like this And Iga still bites her lip on the serve or other strokes and fights like a lioness.

It is indeed impressive that her amazing concentration until the end, regardless of the result, at times she plays as if she was in a trance Of course, everyone wants to win, but when I was leading 6-1, 5-0, I certainly didn't have the attitude to play at full speed until the end.

Most of the players in such situations have a certain slack, and Iga plays as if programmed to the end, like a tennis robot Even with Samsonova it's a slightly different situation, because she's Russian, and you know what circumstances we live in.

I know that tennis is an individual sport and you should not look at it through the prism of nationality, but some thoughts may run through your head that encourage you to play even more fiercely, that we are fighting for Ukraine, etc But in matches with other rivals, Świątek's attitude was similar.

in Doha 6-0, 6-1 with Danielle Collins and Veronika Kudermetova, 6-3, 6-0 in the final with Jessica Pegula In Dubai 6:1, 6:1 with Leylah Fernandez, 6:1, 6:0 with Ludmila Samsonova, only with Cori Gauff a bit more lost games - 6:4, 6:2, but the victory is certain.

In addition, Belinda Bencic and Karolina Pliskova forfeited matches This is a series of such high results that Iga has not recorded one after the other.

How do you read it? Is it due to the fact that Świątek, in terms of strictly tennis and physical, is constantly developing, moving forward? It's like destroying your opponents You have to admire how Iga plays now, but she was already great when she won Roland Garros for the first time, and more than two years have passed since then.

For all of us who have already noticed this great talent of hers, we raved about it, it's no surprise what's happening now, we're not surprised It is as if a continuation and consequence of what we have seen before.

However, there was a group, also in Poland, of doubters, skeptics who criticized Iga, even her forehand And she rules the court, chasing opponents with this forehand, hitting the lines.

It used to be said: oh maybe on clay courts, it will win a lot Certainly, this forehand still needs to be refined a bit, sometimes use it a little differently on grass courts.

Because Iga's forehand works perfectly everywhere, except on grassy surfaces, where the ball bounces differently, slips and there is not enough time to prepare the shot, give the right spin But overall, this forehand still impresses her.

And how is Iga's backhand at the moment in your opinion? I've been talking about her backhand for a year and a half In the past, Iga was famous primarily for her forehand, strong strokes and moving around the court.

These were her main strengths For over a year, however, Iga has been impressing with the regularity of her backhand, flat, low over the net.

It delights in this element with precision, regularity and strength It really can only be compared to Jimmy Connors' backhand from years ago, who regularly chased opponents with such a low, strong, flat ball.

This is an unusual strike from Świątek She is a complete all-around tennis player at the moment, she has no weaknesses.

That is why her rivals, even when they lead 40:0 in a game, are not sure if they will win this game What else distinguishes Iga from other top tennis players at the moment and makes that he wins so high? Iga fights for every point as if for her life.

That was my definition of Jimmy Connors as a tennis player, the way he plays As fierce as she is now, as she fights for every point, I don't think in the history of tennis I have ever seen a male or female player that someone naturally had such a need to win, to win every ball.

I have never seen a person fight so hard for every point He has this attitude - no relaxation on the court, no distracting smile, no attempt at trickery, no relaxation.

With such a high lead, at some point you ask if it's natural to let go a bit, relax, and Iga plays to the max until the end Already during the first successes of Świątek, you said that she was a tennis player who could win a large number of Grand Slam titles, dominate the world's courts like Serena Williams.

Back then, a lot of people were quite cool about it Are these recent results a harbinger that in the near future Iga will surpass her rivals even more? She already dominated last year.

Let's recall her 37 consecutive victories This prediction of mine has already come true.

You can't ask for much more here After all, Iga won two Grand Slam tournaments last year.

This has been the kind of dominance I predicted a few years ago Serena, however, had even longer periods of such overwhelming dominance in world tennis, winning Grand Slam tournaments serially.

However, Iga still has a few mishaps Lost quickly last year at Wimbledon, failed to succeed at the Australian Open this year No, it was only Wimbledon that was actually weaker.

Single defeats, like Iga with Elena Rybakina in Melbourne, happen to every tennis player Świątek now has two strong rivals, Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka.

They can also introduce their own rhythm and pace during the game, and then Iga sometimes does not have contact with the ball, as in other matches Such service or forehand bombs fly from these players that Iga cannot fully develop her game, show all her skills.

What do you think - if Świątek played with Rybakina in the Australian Open now, in such an excellent disposition as in Doha and Dubai, and not a month ago, would the result be favorable for the Polish woman? It seems that Iga is now in a much better shape than she was in Melbourne? Yes, I agree with that This match against Rybakina could look different now.

Rybakina has been in some trouble since losing the Australian Open final to Sabalenka In Abu Dhabi, she lost in the quarterfinals to Betrize Haddad Maia.

In Dubai, after winning two matches, she did not go to the court for the match with Cori Gauff So there was no rematch of Świątek in the semi-final in Dubai for the defeat with Rybakina in Melbourne.

It is a pity for women's tennis that Rybakina withdrew It's better for us, because we know that Iga has the key to defeating Gauff, she has shown it many times.

In the final in Dubai, Iga could have met the winner of the Australian Open, Aryna Sabalenka, but she was eliminated earlier And now an important question.

Is this Sabalenka, who in recent years impressed with her physical conditions, strength, strong strokes, but played unevenly, risky, her game often criticized by you, is now turning into a very strong tennis player, which can be a big threat to Świątek, because she started to play better in technical and tactical terms, and is definitely scary with strength and physical conditions? Sabalenka has changed, she is a completely different tennis player As she played for several years, someone like me could not praise her and rate her highly.

It was a crazy game, completely crazy, unpredictable in the slightest way, it's its risk, all those double faults That didn't bode well for her.

But when she won the Australian Open this year, it was a completely different Sabalenka, wasn't it? Not only in Australia, she started playing well earlier last year, so from the middle of the season After all, she threatened Iga in the semi-finals of the US Open, she was leading in the third set.

This is a different Sabalenka, this is a completely different tennis player than a year ago It's starting to get balanced on the court.

She brought sense into the game, she just improved tactically She introduced an element of thoughtful strategy to her game that didn't exist before.

So for sure she and Rybakina will be dangerous for Iga in the near future How dangerous? Iga should be able to cope with her ambition, bravery and great talent.

You really have to admire her She has this inborn mentality of a winner, which of course happens quite often in sports, but with her it is developed to the point of pain.

Sabalenka unexpectedly lost in the quarterfinals of Dubai to Barbora Krejcikova It's a pity that there will be no final from Świątek and such a verification of what level both are now, how they fall against their background.

With how Iga now feels the ball in Dubai or earlier in Qatar, when she hits it, it's really hard to beat her Even at her high level so far, she has now reached a certain peak.

She's got great timing at the moment, she's never late, she serves very smart So in their direct match, I would still point to Iga, but Sabalenka introduces elements of a very strong serve and return, which means that she will have an advantage at the start of the exchange, and this can sometimes prevail.

So is he able to take away Iga's greatest strengths, prevent her from spreading her wings? In a sense, yes Certainly, there will not be such high scores between them as before.

In their clashes, I would now bet on Iga as the winner, but Sabalenka can bet, because she has advantages that other rivals of Świątek do not have But this Samsonova also had a powerful serve and forehand, and she couldn't give the Pole advice, she lost very high.

The only such decisive advantage of Iga in relation to Sabelenka is that the Polish woman moves much better on the court, she is faster, more agile Last week we had an unprecedented situation in the history of Polish tennis.

Three of our players - Iga Świątek in Dubai, Magda Linette in Mexico and Hubert Hurkacz in Marseille - appeared in WTA and ATP tournaments, seeded number 1 What does this mean, are we really a tennis powerhouse, or is it just a bit of luck? It's been a while, but it's great, great times.

Did you think that you would live to see such times of Polish tennis? I have always waited and hoped for the good days of Polish tennis It's a pity that when I was playing, I was so lonely in the world when it comes to Polish tennis players.

But right now, we're having an amazing time Iga is a phenomenon, Hubert too.

He is a unique talent, he has amazing predispositions In Linette, I also always believed that she could do a lot with her elegant, nice tennis, although we always hoped for a little more from her.

After her super performance at the Australian Open, when she reached the semi-finals, can Linette follow up, gain self-confidence and be very successful on a regular basis? It's different in women's tennis, it's very hard to predict Many tennis players won the US Open, some other important tournaments, including Grand Slams, and it meant nothing in the long run, they had no repeatability.

Magda is an exceptionally nice tennis player and generally a person from Poznań, so I am very happy about her success at the Australian Open Can he jump into the top 10 of the WTA rankings? It's hard for me to answer questions about Magda because she's from my club, I have an emotional relationship with her.

And in women's tennis it's really hard to predict something, to assume something certain That's why Iga is such a phenomenon, because she has this hardness in herself, that's what distinguishes her in women's tennis.

God, look at those brief highs of tennis players, which then suddenly disappear Osaka wins the US Open and what happens next? Penetta wins something high and withdraws.

Ostapenko wins the French Open and then doesn't win a major match for a year Kenin wins the Australian Open and can't achieve anything for two years.

Ashleigh Barty surprised us too She was number 1 in the world and suddenly announced her retirement.

That's why any predictions in women's tennis are very risky Well, maybe Iga is an exception here.

put something on That's why Iga is such a phenomenon, because she has this hardness in herself, that's what distinguishes her in women's tennis.