Iga Swiatek is out of the US Open, handily defeated by Amanda Anisimova in a rematch of the Wimbledon final earlier this summer.
For the American, such a devastating and brutal loss will likely hang over her for many years to come. However, last night’s win will go a long way towards healing those wounds, and hopefully preventing people from continually bringing up probably the most crushing moment of her career to date.
Naturally, it dominated the narrative beforehand, and has continued to do so afterwards.
Both players were asked about the nature of this rematch in their post-match press conferences, with Iga Swiatek in particular pointing out the differences she noticed in the months since they last met.
Iga Swiatek compares Amanda Anisimova’s US Open performance to the Wimbledon final
She began by admitting: “It was totally different. It’s not a surprise. I practice with her. I know how she can play. It was totally different. She moved better, she played better. Yeah, everything was different.”
The Polish superstar then added the following about the nature of Amanda Anisimova’s bounce back, continuing: “I don’t know how she did that because I’m not her. You need to ask her about the whole process.
“I guess in tennis you will get heartbreaking losses and you don’t have any other option, you just have to move on and try to play well the next time.”
She finished by rating her own performance: “I think I didn’t serve the best throughout the whole tournament. I think because she returned so well, you could see the bigger difference [in her serve]. But on the other hand, I wasn’t practising in between matches anyway, so I kind of have to let it go and just focus on the next one.”
Perhaps this defeat could be owed to the sheer amount of tennis played by the 24-year-old over the summer, with Swiatek’s pre-US Open schedule labelled ‘crazy’ before this match.
Iga Swiatek’s stunning summer comes to an end
Although many made her the favourite heading into the US Open, it was unrealistic to think Swiatek could maintain such impossible form throughout an entire summer.
Especially given that, in the 14 or so months beforehand, she had failed to win a single title at any level.
Her Wimbledon win was magical, and backing that up with the title in Cincinnati only added to the phenomenal nature of her return to form.
However, the US Open has never been her favoured Grand Slam, with her sole title at this event marking the only time she has ever made it past the quarter-final stage.
Swiatek should walk away incredibly proud of what she has accomplished over the last few months, even if this loss will likely sting.
