By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Sunday, June 1, 2025
Picture credit score: Antoine Couvercelle-ROLEX
Dropping eight of 9 video games would depart most feeling terror tremors on Courtroom Philippe Chatrier.
Dealing with a 1-6, 0-2 deficit to Elena Rybakina in the present day, Iga Swiatek skipped shivers adopting easy thoughts set: Combat for each ball.
Reigning Roland Garros champion Swiatek pulled off a spirited comeback edging Rybakina 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the Roland Garros quarterfinals for the sixth straight 12 months.
Swiatek stated this comeback is affirmation she will be able to carry out underneath stress after a subpar season.
“It is an excellent affirmation for me that I can deal with the stress and all the pieces, however truthfully, I wasn’t anticipating to have a straightforward rating in opposition to Elena,” Swiatek stated. “I additionally had a straightforward rating in opposition to her, however shedding, you realize, as a result of she’s an excellent participant. So for positive that wasn’t one thing that I even thought-about in the present day.
“Yeah, it doesn’t matter what the rating is, I’ll simply attempt to play the most effective tennis doable any minute. It would not actually matter, truthfully, however for positive, as I stated, it is nice to beat some challenges through the match.”
It’s Swiatek’s twenty fifth straight Roland Garros win, equaling Corridor of Famer Monica Seles for second-longest Paris Open Period girls’s win streak behind Chrissie Evert (29).
Swiatek stated spacing out helped her flip the match round.
Backing up additional behind the baseline gave Swiatek extra time to return Rybakina’s second function the match progressed.
Rybakina received simply 9 of 21 second-serve factors and didn’t hit an ace within the last set.
“[Coach] Wim, it was his plan to form of persuade me typically to attempt it out, however I wasn’t positive if that is my factor,” Swiatek stated. “As a result of I keep in mind just a few years again, once I began being extra aggressive, I began profitable extra.
“I feel women are serving quicker now, and all people is creating.
“There are some limits to what you possibly can react to, you realize. I feel the teaching truly actually helped me in the present day, as a result of I would not provide you with this myself. Though I observe it a bit bit, it is nonetheless like a bizarre factor for me to do.
“However for positive it helped. Yeah, as I stated, it gave me extra time to only play again some balls.”
Subsequent up for Swiatek is a quarterfinal conflict vs. 30-year-old Ukrainian veteran Elina Svitolina who saved three match factors upsetting 2024 finalist Jasmine Paolini.
“It means quite a bit. I feel I wanted that form of win to love really feel these emotions that I can win underneath stress, and even when it is not going the fitting approach, you realize, nonetheless flip the match round to win it,” Swiatek stated. “For positive it is an excellent affirmation for me. Yeah, I for positive wished to have a match like that.
“Clearly, it is nice to even have full management over the match, however in opposition to nice gamers, it is not at all times going to be doable. I am completely happy that I fought, and I additionally problem-solved on courtroom.”
