2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick says Iga Swiatek enters the clay season as the clear favorite and believes that it will require a massive effort from someone to “just enter the conversation” with the Pole on the slowest tennis surface.
Over the last year two years, Swiatek has been the best player in the game and her dominance is usually at its peak during the clay season when the time comes for her favorite surface.
During a breakthrough 2022 season, Swiatek didn’t lose a single match during the clay season as she won the French Open, Rome Open and Stuttgart – she didn’t win the Madrid Open because she didn’t play there. Last year, Swiatek wasn’t as dominant on clay as in 2023 but still won the French Open and Stuttgart, while she ended as runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final and retired injured in the Rome quarterfinal versus Elena Rybakina.
Former world No. 1 Roddick mentions Sabalenka and Rybakina as two players who could be a legit threat to Swiatek on clay but highlights it will be easier said than done.
“I was impressed with Rybakina’s performance in Miami. She’s usually one of those players that’s form-dependent: when she’s hot and playing well she wins tournaments, and when she’s not she loses early,” Roddick…
