(Image: Tennis World USA)
Iga Swiatek insists she wants to treat her upcoming Rome quarterfinal meeting against Elena Rybakina as “any other match.” Swiatek, ranked at No 1 in the world, has five defeats in 2023 and two of those five defeats have come against Rybakina.
During the offseason, Rybakina crushed Swiatek in an exhibition match when they met at the World Tennis League in December. Then, Rybakina handed Swiatek back-to-back straight-set losses at the Australian Open and Indian Wells.
But now, Swiatek and Rybakina are set to meet on the clay courts of Rome. “I would say for now I don’t have any mindset. I would say it’s kind of neutral. I just want to treat this match as any other one. Coming back to my previous matches against Elena, it doesn’t make sense.
It was on hard court. I know how I felt. This time I don’t have any expectations. I’m just going to come out and play the best game possible,” Swiatek said, per the WTA website.
Rybakina on playing Swiatek
A slower surface definitely suits Swiatek’s game better and Rybakina admits she is expecting to have a much more difficult task against the Pole on clay.
“I think [clay] changes it a lot. It’s more rallies, it’s more physical, she has more…
