Novak Djokovic made a massive statement on Iga Swiatek during the ongoing US Open.
Iga Swiatek was in fiery form in her second round US Open 2023 encounter, against Daria Saville on Wednesday at the Louis Armstrong Stadium on Wednesday. The defending champion sealed a 6-3 6-4 win, and looked like she was in her best form. The Pole will now face Kaja Juvan in the third round.
Iga Swiatek, of Poland, returns a shot to Daria Saville, of Australia, during the second round of the U.S. Open.(AP)
Iga Swiatek, of Poland, returns a shot to Daria Saville, of Australia, during the second round of the U.S. Open.(AP)
After her win, Swiatek was hailed by Novak Djokovic, who had earlier replaced a compliment from the WTA no. 1. Speaking after his second round victory vs Bernabe Zapata Miralles, he said, “Well, Iga has been dominating the women’s game last couple of years, multiple Grand Slam winner. I love her, you know, devotion, dedication. Also, you know, maybe she’s too humble to say, too modest to say, but she’s got a great fighting spirit, no doubt.”
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“She’s a warrior, goes out there and, you know, doesn’t give a single game. Actually, she has probably the most bagels of anyone in women’s tennis the last few years.
“It speaks about how seriously and professionally she’s taking every single point and game on the court. So that’s very admirable. I really like that kind of champion spirit and mindset,” he further added.
Earlier, Swiatek had spoken about Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz during a press conference. Revealing that she followed their Cincinnati and Wimbledon finals, she said, “I watched both matches. I don’t watch a lot, but these matches I actually watch from the beginning till the end. Yeah, they are always really exciting, and you see, you know, the clash of, like, two generations. Well, I don’t know. They’re just so solid and good.”
“They don’t give each other points for free. It’s amazing how they can keep the intensity from the beginning till the end. I don’t know. I’m just watching them as a fan, you know, because I know that most of the stress they are playing it would be impossible for me to play,” she further added.
She also stressed on the duo’s never give-up attitude. She said, “I can learn obviously, like, from how they behave and, like, mentally how they never give up. There were like plenty of points in this match in Cincinnati when Carlos, I don’t know, for example the match point how he saved this was unbelievable. I don’t know. I’m watching more as a fan, yeah. But how they fight till the end and, like, the clash of these two games is just amazing.”
Wednesday also saw seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas crash out after the second round to 128th-ranked Swiss qualifier Dominic Stricker 7-5, 6-7 (2), 6-7 (5) 7-6 (6), 6-3. Stricker ended the four-hour match with a forehand winner which caught the baseline. He raised his hands and flopped on his back to celebrate. Tsitsipas is a Grand Slam finalist at the Australian Open and French Open, and has never gone past the third round at the US Open. He is the second-highest seed to go down on the men’s side after no. 4 Holger Rune lost to Spaniard Roberto Caballes Baena, who is ranked 63rd. Meanwhile, Aslan Karatsev of Russia defeated Baena on Wednesday in four sets.
