Iga Swiatek played a lot of tennis leading up to the 2024 Australian Open, and she played some difficult matches in Melbourne as well, but fatigue wasn't to blame for her loss.
Due to the way she finished off the 2023 campaign the Pole was widely considered the favourite for the Australian Open. She wasn't the overwhelming favourite due to the presence of Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina but she was number one among the three for many people.
However, much like Elena Rybakina, she won't be lifting the trophy this year. The Polish number one got beaten by rising star Linda Noskova in a very surprising way.
She seemed on top after winning the opening set but then couldn't keep the same level as the match went on and some think it might be due to fatigue. Before coming to Melbourne, Swiatek played for Poland at the United Cup and advanced to the final.
She played both singles and mixed doubles racking up a lot of matches in a short amount of time. Speaking to the media after her match, Swiatek completely shut that notion down admitting that she was feeling fine.
"No, physically I felt -- honestly, I didn't feel anything. So pretty good. Mentally, as well, I felt like actually I came back in my match against Danielle, and I could kind of start over and not expect a lot, just try to play my game."
In her own words, everything was fine, she just didn't manage to really play her best when she needed it. She had one winner less than Noskova and that tells you all you need to know really. It's been kind of a mini-trend for her because some of her most shocking losses lately have come at Grand Slams.
She destroyed everybody in Cancun and earlier in Beijing but then it hasn't quite translated to Grand Slams recently. We'll see what happens in Paris in a few months as that is the next Grand Slam, and the one where she had the most success.
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