Few would have believed it if they were told, at the start of Wimbledon, that Iga Swiatek would end up winning the title.
In fact, I think even she would have laughed at the notion.
After all, she had historically struggled on grass, and whenever given the chance, would play down her chances of ever succeeding on the surface.
It was perhaps this refreshing lack of expectation which helped propel her to such success, as she touched upon in her press conference.
Iga Swiatek compares her Wimbledon title to the French Open
Naturally, the six-time Grand Slam champion was in an upbeat mood as she strolled into the media room.
After all, she had just captured yet another major, and on the grass of Wimbledon no less.
Few expected such a result on this surface, least of all Iga Swiatek. With that in mind, one reporter asked her to compare this latest triumph to her many French Open successes, drawing a smile from the Polish star.
“Oh my God, that’s always the hardest question,” she began. “I don’t know… I think the fact that it’s on grass for sure it makes it more special, I would say and unexpected.
“It feels like the emotions are bigger. Because at Roland Garros, I know I can play well and I can show it every year. Here I wasn’t sure of that. I also needed to prove that to myself.
“I’m not gonna rank them. I have so much respect to the other tournaments. I worked really hard to win all the other Slams. There’s no point in choosing between them. But this one and the U.S. Open feel better because no one expected that. It wasn’t a relief. It was more of just good tennis and working to make it happen without this baggage on your shoulders.”
Swiatek told Anisimova her wish for her in the future after the match, showcasing her humility before bringing her joy to the media room.
Iga Swiatek tells Polish media to ‘leave her alone’
Swiatek was not finished there though, taking time to lambast Polish media for their treatment of her and her team.
Despite being openly proud of her heritage, she took particular disdain with their framing of her as she steadily progressed through Wimbledon.
The 24-year-old stated: “We as public people and as athletes can’t react to everything that’s going on. We’ve got to focus on ourselves. Sometimes it’s easier to do that. Sometimes it’s harder.
“For sure, the past months, how the media sometimes described me, I gotta say, unfortunately Polish media, how they treated me and my team, it wasn’t really pleasant. I hope they will just leave me alone and let me do my job.
“Obviously, you can see that we know what we’re doing. I have the best people around me. I have already proven a lot. I know people want more and more, but it’s my own process and my own life and my own career. I hopefully am gonna have freedom from them to let me do my job the way I want it.”
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