"I wasn’t counting games" - Swiatek on unique format of World Tennis League
WTA
Iga Swiatek continued her dominance also at the 2022 World Tennis League, beating Caroline Garcia in her first match.
During the off-season this year, the Polish player chose to compete at the exhibition event in Dubai. It gives her a chance to play against some of her rivals in an exhibition format before the new season starts in Australia.
Swiatek was part of the first tie at the tournament when her team, The Kites, took on The Eagles. In the first match of the tie, which was the mixed doubles match, Nick Kyrgios and Bianca Andreescu, who were from the opposing team, beat Swiatek's teammates Holger Rune and Eugenie Bouchard 6-2, 6-3.
Every game counts as one point at the 2022 World Tennis League. That meant that before her match, Swiatek's team was down 5-12, because of the big loss they recorded in the mixed doubles.
Swiatek won her match against Garcia easily 6-3, 6-4, reducing the deficit to 17-19, but after the match, she admitted that she didn't focus on the format, but on winning the match.
"Truth be told, I wasn’t counting games. I’m pretty confident I can focus on other things in matches, change something up with my tactics, or just implement what I’ve been working on in the off-season. The score isn’t the most important thing here."
Eventually, Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Nick Kyrgios in the last match of the tie, which meant that Swiatek's team won. But instead of the results, the Polish player focuses on improving as a player in Dubai.
"There’s always something to improve. I’m 21, so I think I can actually do many things, but on volleys, especially, we’ve been working on my volley game. Mostly it’s fun and learning, so I’m pretty happy that I played such a solid game."
