"Iga Swiatek is no. 1 for a reason" says Ons Jabeur after Rome loss
WTA
Ons Jabeur lost in the final of the 2022 Italian Open in Rome against Iga Swiatek, but despite the loss, she was satisfied with her performance.
Prior to the final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Rome, it looked like Swiatek would be unstoppable, and that was the case as she defeated Ons Jabeur 6-2, 6-2.
Despite the loss, the Tunisian was very happy with her performance and will focus on the 2022 Roland Garros, where she will be one of the biggest favorites after her recent performances.
"Pretty happy with the level I played with. I will just be positive with myself and try to recover in time for the Roland Garros. It's my main goal, to be honest with you."
"It helps me a lot confidence-wise, expectation-wise. It helps me be tougher with myself. I need to be in the second week. I need to go above the other results I did in Grand Slams. Maybe [it affects] other players, how they will look at me."
Jabeur admitted that she enjoys the French Open, as it's one of her favorite Grand Slam tournaments. She reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2020 and 2021, and she will want to go another step further this year.
"I enjoy Roland Garros a lot. I have great memories with that Grand Slam. Honestly, I didn't think about being the favorite to go there and people expecting me to do things. But it's for sure a good pressure for me. I hope I will be ready for it."
"Iga, mentally she was really good. She was always aggressive, always there. No matter what the score is, always going forward, putting pressure on the other player. That I think is very important. No matter what the score is, you always have to go forward."
Naturally, Jabeur was able to recognize also the qualities of her final opponent. Swiatek absolutely steamrolled past all of her opponents in Rome, and that deserved some recognition from the Tunisian player.
"I noticed so many players with more experience, they play really well on the important points. I think that's what makes the difference between players in the Top 10 and players from Top 100."
"Iga is the No.1 for a reason. She's really the leader here on tour. I personally have a lot to learn from her. Let's see. Hopefully we'll have another match soon."
