Iga Swiatek experienced a dream start to this year’s WTA Finals by defeating Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2 in Riyadh.
Swiatek boasts over 60 wins this season on the WTA Tour, on which she is ranked behind only Aryna Sabalenka.
World number two Swiatek loves the WTA Finals fans this year, many of whom were left really impressed by her thrashing of Keys.
The Polish star, who is a six-time Grand Slam champion, is the second seed at the season-ending tournament.
Swiatek has been drawn in the Serena Williams group of the WTA Finals, where she is joined by Keys, Elena Rybakina and Amanda Anisimova.
Iga Swiatek explains new sensation with her serve right now at the WTA Finals
Shortly after beating Keys, Swiatek was tasked by Sky Sports with discussing the prospect of taking on “huge hitters” Rybakina and Anisimova.
Asked if she’s had to make any adjustments to deal with such pace, she replied: “Well, yeah, because you kind of need to be ready for that with your game.
“But I would say I kind of worked on that throughout the whole season. It was one of the goals from the beginning when I started working with Wim [Fissette], for me to be able to hit back, you know, this fast and, like, low balls, you know, without any spin.
“So I think I improved that, and I’m going to try to use this experience here. But it’s always about the execution, you need to deliver every day here to win the tournament. So yeah, I’m happy with today, but for sure I need to also be ready for the next ones.”
And when asked if she’s most proud of her increased intensity when playing big hitters as she celebrates a year with coach Fissette, she said: “Yeah, I think this and also my first serve, because there are more and more matches when I’m able to get many free points just with my serve.
“So this is something that kind of never happened to me before. I had to grind for like every point, and I really appreciate that. So yeah, it’s great and hopefully it will continue like that.”
Iga Swiatek says what she was most pleased about against Madison Keys
Swiatek versus Keys pitted two current Grand Slam champions against one another, with the former having won Wimbledon and the latter having won the Australian Open.
They met during the American’s stunning run in Melbourne, where Keys defeated Swiatek 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(8) in the semifinals.
The Pole then exacted revenge over the American in Madrid, winning their quarterfinal encounter 0-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Asked how their latest match was different, and if Swiatek thought she had a perfect start or if Keys was rusty, the winner replied: “Yeah maybe she was, but honestly you have to ask her.
“But I just focused on myself and on my tactics. I was kind of able to do everything that I wanted to. So this is what I’m most pleased about. My focus was good from the beginning to the end.
“So for sure, it was a positive day, and I kind of used every opportunity I had to put pressure on her, and that paid off.”
Swiatek now turns her focus to her second match against Rybakina, while Keys takes on fellow American Anisimova.
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