Former WTA player Jelena Dokic looked at Iga Swiatek ahead of the clay season, tipping her for more Grand Slam success in the future.
Swiatek is obviously one of the best players in the world. She certainly proved that her level hasn't gone away in smoke this year. She won the Indian Wells Open with an impressive display, even though her Australian Open experience didn't go that well.
The season turns to clay in the coming weeks, a surface many consider Swiatek's best because her movement on it is extraordinary. Ahead of that part of the calendar, former player Dokic looked at what we can expect from the Polish player.
“In a way it speaks to how good and consistent she is, that when she does lose a match it is a bit of a shock. I think she's the most explosive player on tour, who probably moves the best as well. Because she does move so well, that defensive style she can actually learn to do that… believe it or not, being No.1 in the world and a multiple Grand Slam champion, I still think that can get better.”
The upcoming few weeks are going to be very important for her legacy. This is mostly because of the Olympic Games, which will be played on clay this year—not only on clay but also on the Roland Garros courts. If she can win gold, that's going to be a huge achievement because we certainly won't see any clay Olympics anytime soon.
For Dokic, though, the key will be the additions she can make to her game. If she can add some important shots to her repertoire, she will be almost unstoppable.
“When opponents go hard, fast, flat into her forehand, they will get some errors when they push her on the back foot, and that's what's been happening at times. She is improving her serve, she's adjusted her motion, and I think the next step is adding in variation – slice, drop shot, coming forward. These aren’t changes; I look at them as additions, and this will take her to that next level when maybe things don't go so well, then she can go to something like coming forward.”
“She has worked on getting a bit more pop on her serve and getting a bit more out of her second serve. I like when players look for those extra things.”
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