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Iga Swiatek's candid admission about Wimbledon: 'Always tricky'

Pictured here, French Open champion Iga Swiatek poses with the trophy she won at Roland Garros.
French Open champion Iga Swiatek is on a 35 match unbeaten run heading into Wimbledon. Pic: Getty

French Open champion Iga Swiatek says she has "no expectations" going into Wimbledon after conceding that she finds playing on the famed grass courts "tricky".

The World No.1 extended her stunning winning streak to 35 matches with victory at Roland Garros - equalling Venus Williams for the longest winning run in women's tennis this century.

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Swiatek was at her ruthless best as she dominated American teen sensation Coco Gauff 6-1 6-3 to reign supreme in the Roland Garros final.

The Pole has not lost since mid-February and looks a class above the rest of the women's field since the retirement of former World No.1 Ash Barty earlier this year.

However, Swiatek has not enjoyed as much success on the grass courts as she has on clay and hard courts - a fact that could level the playing field somewhat heading into Wimbledon.

The 21-year-old says she intends to spend a week in her native Poland after her stunning French Open victory, before turning her attentions to grass.

“I want to stay at least a week at home, so I will do that,” said Swiatek, who paraded her French Open trophy at the Eiffel Tower on Sunday.

Swiatek reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year and despite admitting that she finds playing on grass "tricky", hopes the experience of coach Tomasz Wiktorowski can help fine-tune her assault on the All England Club.

“We have some grass-court venues, like two courts probably, maybe an hour-and-a-half from Warsaw. So I don’t know. I haven’t talked to my coach. It’s usually his decision. But I want to stay in Warsaw for a few days.

“That will be like the nicest thing for me because I have been on tour since the Fed Cup. Then I came back home for like one night. It doesn’t really count.”

Seen here, Iga Swiatek holds the French Open trophy aloft after beating Coco Gauff in the women's final.
Iga Swiatek heads to Wimbledon as the player to beat in the women's singles draw after extending her wining streak to 35 matches by taking out the French Open title. Pic: Getty

Iga Swiatek admits she finds playing on grass 'tricky'

Swiatek’s 35 wins have come on hard courts and clay, with her rivals no doubt taking some confidence from the fact that she clearly is not as comfortable on the grass.

“My coach believes I can win more matches on grass," she added.

“I don’t know about that yet. But I would like to add like one or two.

“But honestly, grass is always tricky. I actually like the part that I have no expectations there. It’s something kind of refreshing.

“Yeah, I’m going to just prepare my best and maybe with his (coach Wiktorowski's) experiences that he had with Aga Radwanska.

“It was her favourite surface, so maybe he’s going to give me some tips that are actually going to be really helpful and I’m going to enjoy playing on grass a little bit more.”

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Swiatek is not just winning, but winning easily, already amassing 16 sets taken by a 6-0 score in 2022 - and it's only early June.

Her unbeaten run stretches back to February and equals the record set by Venus Williams in 2000 as the longest this century.

Having won her past six tournaments, improving to 42-3 this season, Swiatek has emerged as the dominant figure in women's tennis.

The 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams has been out of action for nearly a year and Australia's three-time major champ Barty announced in March she would retire at age 25 and relinquish the No. 1 ranking.

"Two years ago, winning this title was something amazing. Honestly, I wouldn't expect it, ever," Swiatek said after lifting her second French Open trophy.

"But this time, I feel like I worked hard and did everything to get here, even though it was pretty tough. The pressure was big."

with agencies

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