Courtesy: Google
Iga Swiatek, 23, the Polish tennis player, who is ranked second in the world, lost to American Danielle Collins in straight sets in the third round of the Italian Open on Saturday, May 10. The defending champion wasn’t close at her best, especially while serving in the match, which led to Danielle Collins taking full advantage, earning multiple breaks of serve before winning it 6-1, 7-5, to book a place in the next round of the tournament.
This was the second win for Danielle Collins over Iga Swiatek in nine matches, the first one on clay courts, which is the latter’s preferred surface to play professional tennis. The 31-year-old is now set to play against Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the fourth round of the Italian Open, while the three-time champion of the event, the Pole will have to shift his focus to the second Grand Slam of the year, French Open, starting on May 25.
I think I just wasn't there, present, to fight and to compete: Iga Swiatek
The last WTA title of Iga Swiatek’s career was just about 12 months ago when she won the French Open for the fourth time, her fifth Grand Slam title. Following her recent defeat, the Pole was quoted as saying, as per Reuters, “It hasn't been easy. For sure, I'm doing something wrong. So I need to just regroup and change some stuff. I had some advice from the team, I'll just try to do this.”
“I think I just wasn't there, present, to fight and to compete (against Collins). I focused on mistakes. It's my mistake and I'm not doing things right. So the focus is on the wrong things from my side and I'll try to change that. I'm not able to play my game. I'll just try to change my mindset a little bit,” remarked Iga Swiatek, who has been struggling for answers on the court in recent months.
Danielle Collins also talked about her win over Iga Swiatek, stating that the experience of playing consistently against her paid dividends this time.
