The number one in the world, the Polish Iga Swiatekclassified for semi-finals of the WTA 1,000 in Madrid After dismissing Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia, he said he was not surprised that Argentine Pedro Cachín asked for a shirt from Rafael Nadal after the fight between the two.
Swiatek, a finalist last year at Caja Mágica, admits that something similar has never happened to him. “No, it never happened to me, but If I play Rafa I will definitely ask him for a shirt. But it won’t be possible,” he said.
The world number one highlighted his improvement in terms of mentality in matches. “It took me a long time. I don’t know how I handled it before, but now the situations are different. Back then it was normal to lose games or fight to the limit. I’m not among the best in the world. Now I see differently. Everyone expected me to win easily and that changed everythingSwiatek said.
Against Haddad Maia, he had to come back from a set down. “In the first set, I made a lot of unforced errors because I wanted to rush. Then I stopped thinking and looked at what I should do. And I realized that I had to go back to the basics, to what should be played. “I’m glad it happened after the first set,” he said.
Poland will be Spain’s first opponent in the Billie Jean King Cup. “It’s still a long way off, it will be held in November. I hope to play in the final stage for the first time. I haven’t been able to do it later because of the calendar. I want to play. Let’s see if I can. But I haven’t thought about it yet,” Swiatek said.
Source: La Verdad
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