Iga Swiatek will be hoping to maintain her 100% win record in Grand Slam finals, as she has secured her spot in Saturday’s all-important Wimbledon showdown.
There, the 24-year-old will face Amanda Anisimova, who too has enjoyed a fairytale run to the grand finale.
Already we were guaranteed a new women’s champion, again, but this duo represent an intriguing lineup of players who, before the tournament, had not been expected to go this far.
Iga Swiatek, in particular, had not hidden her tricky relationship with the grass, only admitting halfway through this event that the ball had begun ‘listening’ to her.
Now, seeking to preview the final, she has rated just how surprising this whole ordeal has really been.
Iga Swiatek rates her run to the Wimbledon final
Speaking to the press after her straightforward semi-final triumph, much of the focus on Swiatek centred around many people’s surprise at her run in this competition.
After all, Wimbledon had never been a favourite tournament of hers, and yet on Saturday, she will be one win away from the title.
When quizzed on whether her failure to win Roland Garros had helped in this regard, she admitted: “Yeah, honestly… I don’t know, like, it’s.. I think, I’m not gonna have seasons where the pressure is not gonna be like, kind of forced on me from the expectations from the outside, you know, anymore.
“So every year, I guess it’s kind of the same, but I feel sometimes I can handle it better or ignore it, sometimes a bit worse, you know, but I don’t know, like, honestly, I think it’s easier to win, if you haven’t won Roland Garros and also if you had more time to practice.
“So if I win Roland Garros and then I come here and everybody asks me, you know, already they have like super high expectations. It’s not kind of logical for me, so I have no influence on that.”
Her answer when then asked if she had surprised herself with this run was short, said with a wry smile: “Yeah, I did. Yeah, for sure.”
Navratilova highlighted the area of Iga Swiatek’s game she did not like until recently.
Iga Swiatek has healed her relationship with grass
It’s been really intriguing to watch Swiatek at Wimbledon this year, as she has carved her way through the draw.
After all, before the tournament, very few gave her a chance of a deep run, let alone reaching the final.
Her previous career-best run saw her make it to the quarter-finals, but just last year she exited in the third round. Shock defeats at the All-England club had, sadly, become expected at some point throughout the competition.
But, whether it be free from pressure after failing to win Roland Garros, or just the work she has put in with Wim Fissette, few can deny Swiatek’s progression.
Her relationship with the grass is healed, and a Wimbledon title would surely cement that notion on Saturday.
