Iga Swiatek says that she is trying to implement something into her game that Carlos Alcaraz has been doing since he was a child

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Iga Swiatek has made a positive start to her clay court season after winning her opening match at the Stuttgart Open against Jana Fett.

Swiatek was shocked at the Miami Open, after being beaten by wildcard Alexandra Eala in the quarter-finals.

Following this disappointment, Swiatek withdrew from the Billie Jean King Cup, where Poland were knocked out at the qualifier stage.

After having some time away from the matchcourt, Swiatek is feeling good on clay and has been trying to implement some new things into her game.

Iga Swiatek trying to implement drop shots into her game like Carlos Alcaraz

Swiatek is a two-time former champion on the indoor courts of Stuttgart, and made a positive start to her clay court season after beating the aforementioned Fett, 6-2 6-2.

Her rival and world number one Aryna Sabalenka has added more variety to her game recently, which appears to have been an effective addition.

When fielding questions from the media in her post-match press conference, Swiatek was asked whether she has been trying to use more drop shots in her game.

Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz won Roland Garros last year, and she has now used the Spaniard as an example for how long it can take to really master something like a drop shot.

“Yeah, that’s the idea, but it’s not like something new,” said Swiatek. “I always wanted to do that, but for sure the technique isn’t perfect yet.

“If I haven’t been doing that since I’m a kid, like Carlos, for example, then it’s a bit harder to force it, you know, later on. So, yeah, I want to try because this is the only way to improve that and to learn how to do that.”

Iga Swiatek says what she has been working on with her serve

Swiatek’s serve has also come under fire in some of her recent losses, particularly following her defeat to Eala.

The world number two’s serve was noticeably more effective against Fett, with her first serve win percentage rising from 47% to 81%.

Swiatek only held serve twice against Eala, but it was a completely different story against Fett where she was only broken once in the first game of the second set.

Since hiring her coach in October, Swiatek has been working with Wim Fissette particularly on improving the placement of her serve, something that she explained to media in Stuttgart.

“Well, this is something that I have been working on, I would say, from the beginning of my collaboration with Wim,” said Swiatek. “So, yeah, placement, I think this is something that I want to be better at, because I feel like this is what gives us points.

“Not really, you know, the speed. But I try to do both, because like to go for it and not stop your hand.”

Swiatek will now have a couple of days off before playing her Stuttgart quarter-final match against either Emma Navarro or Jelena Ostapenko.

The Pole will likely be hoping that Navarro comes out on top of that encounter, as Ostapenko dominates Swiatek in their head-to-head after winning all five previous meetings.