Mats Wilander highlights ‘worry’ for Iga Swiatek – ‘She’s going to win lots of Grand Slams. But she’s human’
Iga Swiatek will add several more Grand Slams to her current tally, but Mats Wilander believes that there are players with a certain style that will make life difficult for her while he also feels she is “showing certain weaknesses in terms of mentality”.
Three-time major winner Swiatek had a dominant 2022 season as she won eight titles – including the French Open and US Open and four WTA 1000 events – while she also climbed to No 1 in the WTA Rankings and enjoyed a 37-match winning streak at one point.
There was one blip on her season last year, though, as she lost in the final of Ostrava Open against Barbora Krejcikova in October and the Czech made it two wins in two matches against the Pole as she also beat Swiatek in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships in February.
Her only other defeats this year have come against Jessica Pegula at the United Cup and against Elena Rybakina at the Australian Open.
Seven-time Grand Slam winner Wilander feels it is unlikely that Swiatek will dominate like Steffi Graf or Serena Williams, and while that is not a bad thing, he feels there are chinks in her armour.
“I think it’s great for Iga to not be carrying around this pressure of being this next Graf or Serena that’s going to just dominate on all the different surfaces,” he told Eurosport.
“Maybe she will struggle on the grass court, maybe struggle on a fast hard court, maybe against one style of player that can hit the ball hard.
“Krejcikova is an inspiration in terms of the way that she is hitting a tennis ball because the way that she hits it is so clean and it’s so natural and it’s as good on both sides.
“When you look at someone like Rybakina, you’re looking at the same kind of consistency off both sides.
“When you look at Pegula, who took out Swiatek before that in the United Cup, she is the same kind of player, consistent on both sides and hitting the ball hard from both sides.
“I think the best thing for Swiatek is to be able to approach every surface, every match in the way that she always has, which is ‘it’s about Iga, but it’s also about my opponent, and I know that I’m one of the best players in the world, but nothing is taken for granted. I’ve got to show up’.
“I think when she plays really well, we tend to think about things that are way too big for someone as young as Iga.”
Swiatek has already won one title this year as she successfully defended her Qatar Open title, but her defeats to Krejcikova, Pegula and Rybakina have raised several questions.
Wilander added: “She’s a great player, she’s a great champion, she’s going to win lots of Grand Slams in my book. But she’s a human. I think that she’s showing certain weaknesses in terms of mentality, certain frustrations, and if she doesn’t show that, she wouldn’t be the player that she is.
“So I think everything is very healthy for her. It’s just clear there’s a style of player that she will have to look out for on certain speed hard courts, and those players are very consistent and hit the ball very hard from both sides. That’s her worry.”
READ MORE: Iga Swiatek’s 2023 tennis schedule: Where is she competing next and her season so far…
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