Iga Świątek (2nd WTA) starts competing in the prestigious tournament on Sunday WTA Finals. In Riyadh, she will defend the title won a year ago in Cancun, Mexico, and try to regain the lead in the WTA ranking. However, her disposition is a great mystery to most people. Shelf since losing in the quarterfinals US Open with Jessica Pegula (6th WTA), i.e. she has not competed in tournaments for two months. The former Polish great talked about what we can expect tennis player Marcin Matkowski.
Świątek returns to the court after two months. The expert warns: “She should leave the group, but…”
Świątek's first rival will be Barbora Krejcikova (13th WTA), who advanced to the WTA Finals not thanks to her position in the WTA Race ranking, but thanks to her victory in this year's Wimbledon. However, she has performed poorly recently. She was eliminated from the US Open in the second round, and from the tournaments in Beijing and Wuhan – after only one round matchand in Ningbo she won one match and scratched in the second one. – It's good that Iga will play against Czechia in the first match. The competitor has health problems, which affects her form and results. This is the best rival for Iga to successfully enter this tournament – Matkowski analyzed in an interview for PAP, quoted by Interia.
The doubles specialist, who has been paired with Mariusz Fyrstenberg for years, is not worried about the result. However, problems may arise later. – I think that Iga is the favorite in this match, which should give her self-confidence. She should advance from the group to the semi-finals, but only after these group games will we see what she is really capable of in Riyadh, he added.
Matkowski had no doubts about coach Iga Świątek. “Too short”
The interview also touched upon the issue of Iga Świątek's new coach, Wim Fissett. Belgian, known for cooperation with Naomi Osaka, Angelique Kerber and Kim Clijstersa little over two weeks ago, he took the place of Tomasz Wiktorowski. Matkowski was asked whether his influence would be visible in the game now. – I don't think so. They haven't been working together for long, he admitted bluntly. – Some elements may change in the future, but not after these few weeks. Nevertheless, changes always bring results. I hope that we will see vitality and new energy in Iga. First of all, her willingness to play again should be visible, because the tennis player who had a two-month break from competing is probably what misses competition the most – he concluded.
The match between Iga Świątek and Barbora Krejcikova will take place on Sunday, November 3. It will start at the earliest at 1:30 p.m.