After an amazing start to the season, in which she has annihilated all the opponents that have parried in front of her, Iga Swiatek crowns her moment by winning Roland Garros 2022 in a final dominated against Coco Gauff, which ended with a score of 6-1 6-3. For the Pole the future is today.
For the Pole she is the first slam won in the last two years, the second in her career after the same Roland Garros won in 2020. The Pole commented on her success at the press conference, expressing her joy for the achievement.
The Polish tennis player compared her success with that of 2020. “It’s incredible. It’s very different than when I won it in 2020. Now I feel ready for what’s to come.
Now I feel even more ready to celebrate. In 2020 I only experienced confusion. I have never 100% believed that I could win a Grand Slam. This time it was all work and effort. I am also more aware of what it means to win a Grand Slam and what it takes, every aspect of the game has to work.”
For the world number one, the most special thing was breaking Serena Williams’ consecutive record of success: “The best was getting the 35th win and breaking Serena’s record. I’ve always wanted to have one and in tennis it was a very difficult thing because of Serena’s career. I feel I have done something that no one else has done. Obviously, even winning a Grand Slam.”
On pressure management: “It’s the hardest part of the job. There are many surprises in the Grand Slams. It is not easy to manage such a different atmosphere of pressure, everyone is preparing to win. In my case, I felt the weight.
The hardest thing is not to allow yourself to think about it and analyze too much. Not to think about numbers and possibilities. These two weeks here have been more difficult. It’s part of the job and I’m getting better and better. It’s something I’m proud of.”
At the end of the game, the young Polish girl was shocked at the sight of Robert Lewandowski, her cuntryman, Bayern Munich striker who rushed to attend the final: “I didn’t know he was there and I’m happy, he would have stressed me a lot. He makes me happy that he was there. He has long been a great athlete of our country and the fact that he came to see me means a lot to me. I hope he liked him and that he will come back.”
The Roland Garros champion finally talked about her preparation for Wimbledon. “I’ll probably stay home for a week. I haven’t talked to my coach about it yet, who usually makes the decisions, but I want to stay in Warsaw for a few days. I have been on the Tour since the Fed Cup.”
The other finalist, the American Cori Gauff, explained what her tears were due to at the end of the game, and admitted the superiority of her opponent.
“I didn’t know how to manage my emotions at that moment, I burst into tears. I try not to cry on the court, regardless of victory or defeat. Today it was a strange thing because I felt happy and sad at the same time, I didn’t know how to handle it. I started crying and, just then, they told me I had to undergo a drug test.
So I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, ”said Gauff, who on Swiatek said“ There is probably no other player with that level, or at least that I have faced. Both Iga and Ash, even if he doesn’t play anymore, were the two players you already knew from the start that they would be the most difficult to beat.”