Team Poland - 2
Team The Netherlands - 0
THE MODERATOR: Welcome, Team Poland. They've reached the quarterfinal. Well done. Obviously the tie is not over yet, but can both of you give us your thoughts on how you played today, please? Hubi?
HUBERT HURKACZ: I'll start. No, quite happy with my performance. Tallon is a very difficult player to play against. He's obviously big serve and then powerful forehand and coming to the net playing some really great volleys.
So I was pleased with my performance today.
THE MODERATOR: And Iga?
IGA SWIATEK: I'm also happy, because I feel like after first few games I improved my level, and I was more precise with my footwork. So I think it was an improvement comparing to the last match.
Hubi also played amazing, you know, so I can come out on the court with big confidence, because he already kind of put us in the quarterfinals. So I could just play freely.
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. To both of you, could you just preview your matches against de Minaur and Joint respectively and sort of what you are looking for in those matches and how confident you feel if you had to play a deciding mixed doubles despite not playing a match yet in the competition?
HUBERT HURKACZ: Well, I mean, obviously Alex has been very successful last past years. He's probably close or the highest ranking that he ever had. He's really quick, moves around the court incredibly well.
So it's going to be a good challenge, especially with the Aussie crowd. It's going to be a lot of fun, and I'm excited for the match.
IGA SWIATEK: I played against Maya in Seoul, but every match is a different story. So I kind of know what her ball feels like, but obviously I'm pretty sure she also learned by also knowing how my ball feels like.
So I will need to prepare tactically by watching the last matches that she played. I'll be ready.
But about mixed doubles, I think we'll think about it later on, like, after singles. We really have to focus on the first step now and then we'll see.
Q. Iga, obviously there's a lot of excitement around Maya. She's so young, and the fans are excited to see her. Obviously she's coming up against a pretty established star in you. Can you think back to the maybe point in your career where you were that sort of up-and-coming star and coming up against someone more established?
IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, well, I never thought of myself as, like, upcoming star or something, you know. I just try to play my best as an underdog.
Honestly, it was pretty fun. I miss those days. I remember actually, like, playing against Ash. I could feel how good she is when she was No. 1 and so solid, and she really, like, inspired me actually.
Yeah, being an underdog and, yeah, being this upcoming player with this freshness that you have, I think it's great. It's a moment where you improve your game the most.
So for sure she's I feel at that point of her career, and she's doing great. She also seems like a really intelligent and humble person, so that's also important in my opinion.
Yeah, I wish her all the best, but not in two days (smiling).
Q. Iga, one for you. I recall I think 2019 you were given a wild card into mixed doubles with Lukasz Kubot at the Australian Open. Do you feel like --
IGA SWIATEK: That was a wild card?
Q. I think it was. I think.
IGA SWIATEK: I thought I never used the wild card in my life. I ruined the stat for the mixed doubles?
Q. I'm pretty sure it was a wild card.
THE MODERATOR: We can double-check after this.
IGA SWIATEK: Okay, okay. Well, I trust your research.
HUBERT HURKACZ: Direct entry.
IGA SWIATEK: For singles I never did, I guess, still. Hopefully.
Q. The question is, do you feel that that launched your career, and do you feel like playing mixed doubles sort of when you were just starting out helped you in terms of building your singles career?
IGA SWIATEK: I'm sorry, but I wouldn't say so, because it was just a one-time thing. I only played once mixed doubles on a Grand Slam with Lukasz, and it was great, because he gave me so much positive energy. He was a great partner to have on the same side of the net.
But I would say playing the doubles, like, in 2020 and 2021, that might have helped me more, because it was more consistent. I could actually, I don't know, see what I've done wrong and improve that on the other tournament. When you just play one tournament of mixed doubles over the whole year, there's not much progress you can make, because you don't have another chance to do that, you know?
I think it was great, and energy-wise it helped me a lot. Also, having such an experienced player on my rookie year, also it was great. He gave me a big opportunity, but yeah, I would say there were more -- there were different parts of my tennis career that really helped me improve my game.
Q. Hubi, you mentioned on court how nice it's been. You were feeling good in practice, but you never really know until you play the matches. How exciting is it knowing you're just starting, but you're already playing at such a high level?
HUBERT HURKACZ: Oh, very, very exciting. Yes, as I mentioned, I didn't know what to expect from myself obviously. We expect a lot, but then the reality might be different.
Also, I'm ready. I still need time to get better and to develop things and to get matches. So I'm very happy that I was able to back up the win from the first match from Sascha to today's performance, and I played quite solid match.
Yeah, just excited for the new challenge.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports