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Iga Swiatek reached the semifinals at the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati, earning an excellent victory against Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova. After victories against the American Danielle Collins and the Chinese Qinwen Zheng between the second and third rounds, the world number 1 defeated the Czech with the final score of 7-6(3) 6-1.
Now in the semifinals she will face the young Coco Gauff. In the press conference after the match, Iga spoke of the warning she suffered due to loss of time on her match point, about her opponent Vondrousova and the semifinal with Gauff.
Iga Swiatek beats Vondrousova but admits: "I tried to steal a few seconds"
She explained: "I respect Marija Cicak, she is a great chair umpire. She is always very strict with the rules and always applies them very scrupulously, often looking to the second.
In the last two games of the match we played quite long rallies and I felt that I needed to catch my breath, but Marketa wouldn't let me. She was practically always ready when there were still 20 seconds left, while I needed more time.
I'll be honest, I tried to steal a few seconds. I was always ready when there were still 15 seconds left, I thought it was still enough time for Vondrousova. The rule says that she dictates the times: when she's ready, I must be ready too.
But I told Cicak that I too am human and I need to breathe. In any case, I understand that this is the regulation and we have to adapt." Swiatek talked also about her next opponent, the US Coco Gauff, saying: "Coco and I have played many times, I know her game well, even if you never know how it will play.
I'll have to try to focus on myself now I figured out how to play in these conditions." Regarding the injuries in both the ATP and WTA Tour, she told: "Everything is becoming increasingly difficult: if the tournaments get longer we will have less and less time to recover.
Next year will be almost extreme, as almost all the Masters1000 will extend over two weeks. I don't think it's a coincidence, but a signal to the ATP and WTA that they should go easy on us: the seasons will get longer. We players will have to be good at understanding when to stop, it's a marathon, not a race of speed."