Warsaw-
Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova played each other in the final of Roland Garros six weeks ago and now they’re the top two seeds at the 2023 BNP Paribas Warsaw Open. Naturally, everyone is already thinking about their potential final. They still need to progress through the next few rounds and perhaps the best example of how tough it can be was their opening matches on Tuesday, which were both tougher than expected.
Perfect tie-break to turn the match around
Muchova was facing an established player in Aliaksandra Sasnovich, who might not be having her best campaign this year but is always a dangerous sleeper pick in draws. “I think I started the match pretty well, 4-1 lead. Then few mistakes, I started to hesitate a bit, she leveled up the game as well. In the second set, I was just trying to hold my serve and stay in the game. It got to the tie-break, which I think I played great,” said the World No. 16 about the match.
She managed to beat her opponent 4-6 7-6 6-3 with the key moment being the 7-0 tie-breaker and how much she loosened up after that. “I think if you get far in the French Open, everything is so fast. In three weeks you have Wimbledon, then we are here playing on hard courts. There wasn’t really a time when I could take some rest and soak it up. I get a bit more recognition now, as well as a little more pressure,” the Czech said about how her life changed after becoming a Grand Slam finalist.
Surface change making it easier for Swiatek scheduling-wise
Swiatek was pushed by World No. 181 Nigina Abduraimova, even if the scoreline might look relatively comfortable. The 29-year-old Uzbek was playing a top 10 player just for the third time in her career and the first time in eleven years. Despite that, she came out onto the court playing fearless tennis with big-serving and surprisingly good defense. “It wasn’t easy, first rounds are always tricky. I’m happy that I’m gonna play another match here. It’s a special feeling, playing with the Polish crowd, my hometown,” said Swiatek, who defeated her 6-4 6-3.
The tournament was moved from clay to hard courts this year to be a more natural warm-up for the US Open Swing. The courts are rather slow and should suit Swiatek’s game. “Definitely my season makes more sense now. Last year it wasn’t easy to get back to clay for just a few days. Now this tournament is ideal for a warm-up before the US Open Swing. It’s great to have outdoor hard courts in Warsaw finally, I’ll be training here throughout the year as well,” said the 4-time Grand Slam champion.
Swiatek will take on one of Claire Liu or Yue Yuan on Thursday (their match was suspended at 4-all in the 1st set due to darkness). Muchova takes on Rebecca Sramkova, who beat her in their only head-to-head meeting at Roland Garros five years ago. This match will also be part of a packed Thursday line-up.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
