Melbourne [Australia], January 20 : The World No.1 Iga Swiatek dismissed any worries after she suffered a shocking third-round defeat at the hands of 19-year-old Czech Linda Noskova in the Australian Open on Saturday.
Swiatek said she leaves Melbourne with a healthier perspective in comparison to her Round of 16 loss to Elena Rybakina in 2023.
"Last year, I felt like much more off the balance. I felt like the whole season may be just tough because of the start. I was expecting much more," Swiatek told reporters after the match as quoted by WTA.
"This year I was more focused on just not the results and not the rankings but my game a little bit more. This year I feel like I just want to get back to work. I know I'm going to have plenty of chances during the season to show my game," she added.
With a 7-1 season opener under her belt, Swiatek leaves Australia. She won two more games in Melbourne to extend her winning streak, which was the second longest of her career, to eighteen matches after going undefeated for Poland at the United Cup. There, Noskova put a stop to the run with a brave demonstration of aggressive baseline tennis.
Swiatek made it to the semifinals in 2021 but has not advanced past the Round of 16 in Melbourne. The 21-year-old Swiatek acknowledged that, despite her electrifying performances in Sydney and Perth to begin the year, something simply didn't work this year when she got to Melbourne Park.
"For sure I was more stressed than on other tournaments, especially first two rounds. But I think some things just didn't work as they did before, even though I was working the same way," she said.
"I feel like I did really everything I could in preseason to improve some stuff that I wanted to. Then I came here and I wasn't playing natural anymore. My split step was too late sometimes. Reaction a little bit slower," Swiatek said.
Her next scheduled trips are the back-to-back WTA 1000 events in Dubai, where she reached the finals the previous year, and Doha, where she is the two-time defending champion.
"I lost but I'm going to have more tournaments. I remember just last year getting back to work. I could reset and just focus on the next tournaments. So I'm going to do the same this year," the World No.1.
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