Iga Swiatek almost lost a set in her match against Yulia Putintseva at the 2024 Italian Open, and she admitted that she got a bit distracted.
The Polish player is currently riding an eight-match winning streak, and all but one match was a straight-set win. It was the final of the Madrid Open, where Aryna Sabalenka not only won a set but almost won a match against the Pole, who had to save match points.
None of that happened in Rome so far but the Polish player came fairly close to losing a set against Yulia Putintseva in her most recent match. The Kazakhstani player took an early break and held it for a while but she couldn't serve out the set.
A late push from Swiatek kept the match in two sets, which was ideal for her, but what happened? She got distracted; at least, that's how she put it after the match.
"Well, I think it was all about my energy and my state at the time. I got a little bit distracted. I just came back to how I played basically I think in the first set. It was enough for me to get the control back, so yeah..."
If you asked a tennis player what the most difficult thing in tennis is, it would be focus and consistency. Many players are capable of playing some amazing tennis, but what separates the best from the rest is the ability to do it over an extended period of time.
Swiatek is supremely consistent, but even she has moments when she loses focus and her energy dips a bit. At the highest level of tennis, that's enough to cause problems, and that's what happened against Putintseva.
Once she refocused and increased the intensity once more, Swiatek cruised to the finish line.
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