Iga ¦wiątek was probably heading for her first Grand Slam title in Australia. On the way to the semi-finals, she lost only 14 games. She dominated on the court and dealt with her opponents quickly. Experts warned, however, that it might not be so easy against Madison Keys. – The American has a perfect opportunity to hurt Świątek on a fast and hard court – emphasized Mats Wilander. And it actually happened. Thursday’s match cost the Pole a lot, especially mentally.
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Iga Świątek was devastated. Wim Fissette tried to comfort her
Świątek won the first, very close set – 7:5. But in the second game her game completely fell apart. In addition, she couldn’t keep her nerves under control and made simple mistakes, which resulted in winning only one game (1:6). The fate of the match was decided by the third, again very even game. The Pole even had the match ball, but in the end she didn’t use it and Keys won after the tie-break (10-8).
The defeat was a big blow for Świątek. This is evidenced by, among others, her behavior already several minutes after the end of the meeting. The organizers of the Australian Open ran a live broadcast on YouTube from behind the scenes, in which they captured a Polish woman walking around the tennis facilities. She was still undermined, which she showed with her body posture and with the tears that flowed down her cheeks.
-See also: This is what the Spaniards called Sabalenka after the Australian Open semi-final. No illusions.
The moment of her meeting with Wim Fissette was also recorded earlier. How did the coach react to her defeat? He seems to be doing the best he can in this difficult situation. He simply embraced Świątek, patting her on the back several times. It was obvious that he was saying something to her, but the microphones didn’t pick up any sound. The Belgian clearly wanted to encourage her and lift her spirits. Earlier, Daria Abramowicz, who came to the coach with Świątek, tried to do it.
The defeat will not allow Świątek to regain the title of the first racket in the world, but it will bring her closer to Sabalenka
The Polish woman’s defeat in the Australian Open semi-finals, while Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the final, means that our compatriot will not regain the lead in the WTA ranking in January. She will remain in second place, but will slightly close the gap to the Belarusian. Before the tournament in Melbourne, it was over 1,500 points, and now in the worst-case scenario for the 23-year-old – when Sabalenka wins the title – it will be around 1,000 points, and in the best-case scenario, around 200 points.
