QATAR TOTAL ENERGIES OPEN

February 10, 2025

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/M. Sakkari

6-3, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Congratulations on the first-round win. Talk us through your performance, and just your comments on the win.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, for sure I'm happy with the performance, especially because the conditions are tricky here, but I felt like today the wind was a bit lighter, so I had some time to adjust. It's not easy to play against Maria, especially your first match of a tournament, so I'm happy that I'm through.

THE MODERATOR: Questions?

Q. You were used to playing tournaments as a No. 1 in the world, No. 1 in the seeding. You started this season as No. 2. Does this change something in your mind, it puts less pressure on you, or more?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, I think, yeah, it is a bit less pressure. Honestly, I try not to look at the rankings, even when I was No. 1. I guess, you know, heavy is the head that wears the crown, so mine was heavy for a long time, and for sure I'll be fighting now to get back to No. 1, but I wouldn't say it matters, you know, during the tournaments.

I think, yeah, like every tournament is a different story, and me and Aryna are both great players, and doesn't matter, honestly, which number is next to our names.

Q. You have played Maria many times, but what did you think of her level today as she's coming back from an injury?

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, well, for sure I wasn't sure what she's going to show, because she had some amazing matches, she had some little bit worse matches than how she played before, but, yeah, like, I was ready for anything.

I played some nice battles with Maria, and also remember 2021 she beat me couple of times and it hurt. So, yeah, she was also one of these players that push me to work harder, you know. Today was, I don't know, I just felt like I had to focus on myself. Also, you know, with the conditions to just adjust to the ball as much as possible. She already played here, I didn't, so I wanted to kind of catch up with having the right feeling on the court. I wasn't really focused much on how she's playing, I just wanted to kind of play my game and that's it.

Q. You said the conditions are a bit tricky here, but I have never seen you throwing racquet or something with frustration.

IGA SWIATEK: And you won't probably (smiling).

Q. I was wondering if there's any specific routine or something to reset your mindset and just move on to the next point, is anything during the point?

IGA SWIATEK: I wouldn't say there's a routine because there are many things that can throw you off, you know, and you always have to react differently depending on what the situation looks like. For sure there are some things I can do when I'm angry, but I wouldn't say my anger is kind of, I don't know, so visible (laughing). It doesn't make sense for me to throw the racquet, it's not the racquet's fault, you know, and I always try to kind of give good example to the kids as well. I have been throwing racquets when I was younger, but this is why I do all the mental training, and I try to kind of be a better player to learn how to deal with this stuff. I don't know, there's no point, I guess, if my mentality, like, bursts with this negative kind of emotions, it's just better to work on them and to kind of convert them to something positive.

Q. The coin toss, the beginning of the match, when you win, do you have any specific like serve or return?

IGA SWIATEK: Usually I do serve.

Q. Any reason behind that?

IGA SWIATEK: You can just lead the whole set kind of, and when you break, the difference in games is like much bigger, so I think visually it just looks nicer, you know.

Q. How does it feel to come back here in Doha as a three-times champion, you didn't lose a match here since long time, comparing to other tournaments where you don't have this test?

IGA SWIATEK: Honestly, that's a hard question, because doesn't matter like what's my history on a tournament, I always kind of try to play my best game and try to win it. I try also not to kind of lean on these previous performances too much because I know that every area is a different story. It's not like it's next week, it's like the whole year has passed, so, you know, many different situations and many obstacles we had to go through. I don't compare them, you know, but for sure it's nice to come back to the place where you know you can play your tennis, and you've been through, I don't know, some tough moments, some nice moments, you kind of found the solutions because you were able to play well before, so just try to use the experience, but not really like focusing much on the past because, yeah, every tournament is a different story.