OMNIUM BANQUE NATIONALE

August 3, 2025

Clara Tauson

Press Conference

C. TAUSON/I. Swiatek

7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Congrats, Clara. You beat Iga and your second top-5 win. Just give us your overall thoughts on the match.

CLARA TAUSON: I think it was a good match. I was playing really solid and serving well in important moments. Yeah, she's obviously a great player that I've never beaten before, so can't complain (smiling).

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How do you describe that win against a player of that caliber for your career?

CLARA TAUSON: I mean, it's my second win like that in my career and second win like that in this year. So obviously it's really great, and it shows all the hard work I've been doing has been the right thing.

I think I'm getting more confidence in this kind of level and feeling like I belong here a bit more. I think that really helped me today in the important moments.

Q. You used the word "unreal" on the court when describing this win. What is unreal about it? Is it about beating Iga, and can you just define exactly what you meant?

CLARA TAUSON: Yeah, I played Iga three times before, and I've been close two of the times. Yeah, I just felt like after I won the first set that I needed to continue, because I know she's never going to give up, and she's going to come out firing no matter what.

Yeah, I think obviously getting a win against her after losing to her in Wimbledon and a couple of weeks ago is obviously nice, because I was not feeling great in that match, and I felt like I was playing some good tennis in Wimbledon. So I felt like if I could keep that going, I thought I had a shot. It's really nice to sit here now.

Q. You were up a break in the second set, and she breaks you and then you break her back. What was your state of mind after she broke you, and how did you manage to turn it around?

CLARA TAUSON: Yeah, I mean, I knew that she was going to keep fighting. Obviously she's a champion, and they never stop fighting. I didn't even feel too bad about getting broken there, because I felt like I was playing the right way. She was just playing better than me in that game.

I felt like I had a bit better luck in my returning games, and obviously she started with a double fault in the next game, which gave me a little bit more confidence going into the rest of the points. I felt like I had a little bit of the upper hand in the end of the set. I think I showed that I can keep cool under pressure.

Q. A bit of a big-picture question. You came up as a No. 1 in juniors. I'm sure there were a lot of expectations. You come from a country that produced one very, very great player in Wozniacki. Was that at all a burden on you, like just comparison to Wozniacki, stuff like that? Was that something that was hard for you to handle as a young player coming up the tour?

CLARA TAUSON: I think I've always separated myself a bit from that, because I mean, obviously Caroline, she's one of the biggest influences in Danish tennis obviously because we're such a small country, and nobody really cares about tennis (laughing).

But I think we're two very, very different playing styles, and I've always said that from a young age. I don't feel like I've had any kind of pressure like that. We've had some good juniors in the years after also. They never really made it here.

Even just getting to the top 100 was a win for me when I was, like, 18 years old. So now it's falling a bit more into place, my game and the mentality part. So I think I just needed a little bit of time.

Q. At this point in time just how much more comfortable are you on hard courts compared to, let's say, grass and clay?

CLARA TAUSON: I think, I mean, I don't know. I obviously love the hard courts. That's no secret, but this year I found a lot of love for the grass for the first time ever. Clay has always been kind of my favorite, also.

So I feel like I'm pretty much an all-around player now. I think obviously hard court suits my game the very best. It's where I had my best results, but I'm sure in the future I'll have better results than on the other two surfaces.

Q. You beat a player who had just won a Grand Slam, and two days from now you're going to face another one who won a Grand Slam. Is there importance for you to play those matches against Grand Slam winners?

CLARA TAUSON: Yeah, I mean, obviously they're very, very good players, both of them. They've won slams this year. I think it's really important to get these kind of matches on this high level, especially back-to-back. Then you can really see if you can maintain the level.

I think I showed this year that I can maintain the level, but obviously it's going to be a super tough match against Madison. She's playing some great tennis. Yeah, she always has great fire.

Q. The game in which you broke in the second set, the first break you got, can you take us through that game? It seemed like it was a real forehand battle where she crunched one right at the start of the game, and you hit this incredible return, which was maybe the fastest of the match. Can you take me through that game?

CLARA TAUSON: When did I break (laughing)? For 3-1?

Q. Yeah.

CLARA TAUSON: Yeah, I felt in the first set when she put in her first serves, I was not really anywhere close. I decided to go a bit back on the return. I think that really helped me, because then I could really have time for my shots.

Yeah, I mean, it's always going to be a battle of who hits the hardest, especially in women's tennis. I think I was feeling really confident, especially after the first set, and the tiebreak really helped me to see that I could return good serves as well.