US OPEN

September 1, 2023

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/K. Juvan

6-0, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Dominating two sets, under 50 minutes. Your thoughts on your level of play as you advance now.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure my level was high, and I didn't make a lot of unforced errors. So I'm happy with my performance and overall with the way I started and then just kind of, I don't know, were disciplined and didn't change my level till the end of the match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. When Kaja was able to get that fourth game in set two and give the whole emotions, you obviously want to win every game no matter against who, but was that something where you were laughing inside in terms of her being so joyous in that moment and having a good moment with the crowd?

IGA SWIATEK: No, I wasn't laughing for sure. For sure it wasn't an easy match for her. Emotionally as well it's not easy to, like, play with such a score.

But I really just wanted to focus on myself and I think also because I knew that it's going to be a little bit harder for me to focus because she's my best friend, I was actually more focused than usual.

I'm happy that I could do that and I was like fully professional. Usually on a match when something like that happens, I don't really look and I did the same this time as well.

Q. Speaking of friends and you being so close with her, you love the show "Friends," and that was obviously here in New York. Do you have a favorite episode?

IGA SWIATEK: Oh, my God, favorite episode. No, I don't have the exact one. I don't even have one favorite character, because it's impossible to choose.

When I first watched, my favorite character was Phoebe, then it was Monica. I'm not sure even now. Yeah, I love the show. And Kaja loves it as well actually. We used to watch it together. So, yeah.

Q. I know you weren't there today but I wanted to ask you about playing on Ashe and how maybe it differs from playing center court or Centre Court or playing main court at the French Open?

IGA SWIATEK: Oh, wow, any stadium here I feel like it's louder than any other place. For sure you need to focus a little bit more.

Ashe, the atmosphere is amazing. I remember last year my main focus was not to get distracted because you can see all the celebrities, and it's like you can see that it's fully entertainment what we do out there, you know.

And it's a nice place to play and really exciting. For sure you have to also learn how to deal with all that.

Q. When you first played on there did you find that challenging or were you surprised just by how loud it was?

IGA SWIATEK: Yes, yes, I was. I mean, I wasn't surprised because we kind of talked with my team about that. You know, my coach has a huge experience, and Agnieszka played plenty of times on Ashe. Also, Daria is always kind of observing how are the circumstances, you know, on the court or outside of the court what I should be aware of to be ready and not surprised.

But for sure still when you have to enter and kind of deal with that, it's a little bit different than just knowing.

So I was prepared. I remember it wasn't -- last year? No? Or maybe two years ago. It's not like I played -- well, first few tournaments I played only on outside courts so for sure it wasn't like a smooth transition for me. I played on Louis against Vika Azarenka in 2021 but on Ashe a little bit later.

Q. You mentioned after the match you spoke with Roger last week about embracing the World No. 1. Curious what advice he offered you.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, honestly, I feel like he embraced everything. When he was on tour it seems like from his perspective it was, like, mainly fun. I also heard from other people that even, like, 30 minutes before a final he could chat and be relaxed.

He's that kind of guy. I think there is something we can learn from that. But for sure I'm a little bit different person. I need to really stay in the zone and bubble and be focused. So for sure it was nice to hear about the other perspective.

You know, it's tough to, like for him also to give advice in such a short talk, you know, especially when we don't see each other every day on tour, because when he finished I just started.

But I'm really happy that I had the opportunity to talk to him a little bit more and just see how he approaches some stuff, you know. For sure he was pretty open to tell me that.

Q. With all your experience now in going deep in majors, how would you describe the year-long grind, physically and mentally, that is involved in getting deep in majors?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, "grind," you mean like...

Q. The hard work, the effort, and all that goes into, like, the mental and physical side.

IGA SWIATEK: I mean, I would, like, describe the whole job to you. So for sure, well, these are the tournaments that we really focus on and kind of prepare for besides, you know, some WTA 1000s or WTA Finals. So for sure being ready for Grand Slams, you need a lot of work and a lot of grind.

The season isn't, it's not convenient sometimes to have, like, a lot of time to practice during the season, but I always try to find that before Grand Slams.

So, yeah, well, you need a lot of that. I don't know. Sorry.

Q. We are pretty far down into the season. It's a long season. Very short off-seasons. By this time of year, do you generally find yourself more exhausted physically or mentally, would you say?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, it depends, you know, because my first years on tour I wasn't that good physically. I didn't play such long tournaments. I mainly just, I was losing, like, fourth rounds or quarterfinals sometimes, or even earlier, before my Roland Garros title.

I also, like, switched coaches and I felt like the approach with my team in terms of giving me more days off changed a little bit, so it's hard to really have -- maybe ask me 10 years, I would tell you what was more often, but right now I would say, I would say it's both. You know, it's never only one thing. It's kind of connected, as well. When you play these long physical matches, you also have to push in your mind and really be out of comfort zone.

So I would say it's both. It's never, like, one thing, I would say.

Q. If I could just ask you to explain a little more about the days off that you mentioned there. So that's something that's changed in your routine? How do you find time to give yourself...

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I'm not giving myself days off. It's usually these two guys that are in the box deciding about that (smiling).

But, yeah, I feel like I have more time now to reset after tournament. They are giving me usually like one more day than I had when I was younger, you know. And also sometimes after Grand Slams I get, like, I don't know, sometimes even six days off, which earlier happened, like, maybe once when I started on WTA Tour.

It really helped me to just actually have more energy till the end of the season. It's pretty connected, yeah.

Q. Looking ahead, looks like you'll play Ostapenko. I'm just curious from your comfort level against power players, which has been a big shift for you, what do you think was the key adjustment there in terms of confidence in facing players like Ostapenko?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, in terms of the confidence, I always felt like I still need to kind of work on some technical and tennis skills to build up my confidence.

You know, I learned a lot during these past two years how to play on faster hard courts and how to play against heavy hitters.

With Jelena, it's a little bit like one day she can play a perfect match and just put everything in even though she's really risking, and the other day can be different. You never know what to expect. But I kind of accept that, you know, all these players they are going to play the best tennis against me. I felt that couple times already.

It's not easy against her. We played a really tight match two years ago in Dubai. For sure I'm getting close. We'll see how, you know, if it's going to be her or Bernarda. They still have to play, right?

Q. She's at least two points away from victory.

IGA SWIATEK: For Jelena? Yeah, we'll see. I'm getting better and better at that, yeah.

Q. Going back to maintaining focus on court, blocking out who you're playing against and seeing celebrities. Does that come with experience or do you have any coping mechanisms to do that?

IGA SWIATEK: Do what, sorry?

Q. Block out who you play and block out seeing celebrities.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I learned how to be more focused, for sure. That was one of the main actually reasons that I wanted to work with a mental coach or sports psychologist, because I knew that there is a lot I can change in that when I was younger.

So, well, I kind of just think about getting my brain, you know, busy in terms of thinking about what I should do on court so I won't have time to think about other stuff.

There are plenty of things you can focus on. Depends on the day. The thing is that these people will give you, like, tools, you know, and stuff you can do, but your job is to choose the right stuff in the right moment and to use it. You know, each day sometimes is a different solution.

So for me, yeah, also have to see what day I have, if it's easy for me to get focused or not. But I haven't had many situations when I had a celebrity in the stands and I completely couldn't focus.

I remember also, like, we invited Lindsey Vonn last year to my box and my team kind of did that without my knowledge, because I'm still kind of young, so we are seeing what I can know and still be focused on and what not.

So every year I'm doing a lot of progress and, you know, because I'm doing that progress, I can also, you know, invite, like, some friends to more tournaments or, like, do some fun stuff during the tournament.

It's like I remember last year when there was Championships League final in Paris, I was like so shocked because Rafa went, and I know that the final finished really late. I was, like, Oh, I wish I could have done that, as well.

But it's years of experience and, you know, learning how to, you know, still have energy and focus on your match. Because he played, like, day session next day. So I was, like, really, yeah, I wish I could do that.

But I'm getting better. I also talked with other athletes that already, you know, finished their careers and have a lot of experience, and they also said I shouldn't rush it. I should really do it step by step.

So, yeah, my focus is getting better (smiling).