I. SWIATEK/M. Sakkari
6-3, 6-2
THE MODERATOR: Iga, how pleased are you with your play today? What do you think you did particularly well?
IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, I think I adjusted better to the shorter balls than I did in Doha. I remember it was quite annoying there making mistakes from these balls. I also understood the wind a bit better.
I think I just learned a lesson from this match in Doha and I'm happy that I could make some improvements.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. You said on court you learned from your mistakes. Besides the short balls, was there anything else you adjusted to?
IGA SWIATEK: Well, I think I served better, maybe. The return was also, like, on point. I remember in Doha mishitting and not hitting clean sometimes.
Today I could really feel free to push Maria. Yeah, I just had good timing, I would say. Yeah.
Q. First time since 2021 that you haven't played both Doha and Dubai. I wonder, from your perspective now that you have experienced it, does everything get a bit easier to have that extra space and extra time for you? Do you feel refreshed?
IGA SWIATEK: Well, it's not like I played Indian Wells bad before (smiling). I think it's just different planning, but both work.
Also, 2022 I missed Madrid, but then I always played it. So I think we need to sometimes react to what we need at this particular moment, regardless of the past results or the history of some tournaments.
So, yeah, I felt like I needed some time on the practice court also. Remember that Australia was pushed, so we got one week less between the tournaments to practice.
Yeah, I felt like I could do this grind and really, like, solid work training block in Warsaw. It's always helpful, for sure.
Q. How good are you, do you think, in terms of being able to separate the score versus how well you're playing in a match? So in other words, regardless of the score, you have a good sense of your level, or is it almost always kind of tied to the score?
IGA SWIATEK: No, it's not, because obviously when you play an amazing player, you can play great, but still, the score will be tight.
Honestly, like, the best way to go is not look at the score at all. And just because you don't want to, like, react to it when you're losing, because you just need to fight for every ball anyway.
You don't also want any reaction when you're winning, because then I think, like on my last match can happen, you know. So the best way for me to go is not look at the score at all. Yeah, but the level, for sure, it doesn't go together with the score always. Yeah.
Q. Is that like a skill you have to learn in your head, or has that always been kind of how you saw it?
IGA SWIATEK: No, I think it's just normal. It's the way matches go. You can play really bad and still win easy just because your opponent play worse, or you can play amazing and your opponent is playing amazing as well.
I lost for three years, I think, match of the year, so you can still play great and lose (smiling). That's fine. It's tennis.
Q. There is always a lot of talk about equality between men's and women's tours and at mixed events. Do you think there is that kind of equality in terms of things like scheduling, and if not, what sort of things would you want to see changed?
IGA SWIATEK: Honestly, I don't look at the schedule from this perspective, because, for example for you guys, you can say that, oh, night session is the best match to play, but I want to play day session.
So, like, if it's not equal and I'm getting day session, I'll be fine with it (smiling). So I really didn't analyze it from this perspective, because I never felt the need to. You kind of just see the schedule and you go with it. Also, sometimes I don't even know when other players are going or guys, so...
Hmm. I think the only thing that where inequality could occur is the requests, but I have no idea what other players request, so I have no way to judge that.
Q. Leaving aside scheduling, are there other areas you feel are unequal or do you consider them to be the same?
IGA SWIATEK: I have never been a guy, I'm not on ATP Tour, so I don't know how they're treated. But I feel like we have good treatment, so there is nothing I would say is bad, you know, about our life on tour.
It's tough, obviously, because this sport is tough, but no, we play the same tournaments, we're in the same environment, so I don't know what particularly could be unequal.
Q. You have had success against your next opponent, Karolina Muchova. What do you expect from that match?
IGA SWIATEK: Well, the way you started that question, I don't want to expect that, because yes, like the head-to-head might be to my side, but I can remember all these matches I played against her, sometimes I was down, like, break in third, you know. She's an amazing player, and most of the times we played really tight matches.
It's going to be tough, and I'm ready for the battle. Honestly, I love playing against her. I also love watching Karolina. Yeah, it's just nice to see someone who plays so smart and so smooth. She's like woman's Roger.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports