Justine Henin delivers ‘scared’ Iga Swiatek verdict after shock Australian Open exit

Oliver Paton
Pictured: Iga Swiatek and Justine Henin
Iga Swiatek and Justine Henin.

World No 2 Iga Swiatek’s 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(8) loss to Madison Keys reverberated around the tennis world on Thursday, with retired legend Justin Henin attempting to diagnose the result post-match.

Keys is through to her first Australian Open final – where she will face Aryna Sabalenka.

The five-time Grand Slam champion had won her last four Grand Slam semi-finals, going on to win the title every time. However, it was not to be, with Swiatek failing to serve out the match at 6-5 in the third, after holding a match point of her own.

The hard-hitting playstyle of Keys was visibly damaging to her opponent, with the world No 2 unable to successfully redirect the enormous power coming from the other end of the court.

Former world No 1 – and seven-time Grand Slam champion – Justine Henin spoke to Eurosport, and was upfront with her opinion.

“Iga was tactically not in the right position, she was scared that Madison would put pressure on her. On hard courts, we know she can be in a rush and she has been in a rush a lot, not being in the good rhythm.

“She was scared of that match. She had match point and could have reached her first final here so it’s a big disappointment.”

However, Henin was also forthcoming in her praise towards Keys – who reached her second Grand Slam final

“Wow, second final at a Grand Slam. We couldn’t have expected that, she is going to face the biggest challenge you can face at the Australian Open (Sabalenka). She will be prepared, but she will have to do a lot to win.”

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On the heels of Henin’s comments, former world No 7 Barbara Schett agreed with the Belgian’s assessment of Swiatek’s loss

“She was rushed, because, again, the ball striking – especially from the forehand wing – from Madison Keys was phenomenal. There were unforced errors in the first set until she was down 5-2, but then she put a little more spin on the ball, didn’t play too close to the sidelines. The way she’s been redirecting the shots, especially down the line, I think that caused a lot of trouble for Iga Swiatek.

“The world No 1 didn’t have a lot of tests earlier on in the tournament, and maybe that’s what Iga was missing – those pressure points. She did feel tight, she did feel nervous. Remember, in that second set, she didn’t win a single point on her second serve so that’s a statistic that is pretty poor.”

Iga Swiatek is next scheduled to play at the Qatar Open, February 10-16.

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