Barbara Schett thinks Iga Swiatek felt “rushed” in her Australian Open semifinal against Madison Keys and the former world No. 7 also opinioned that the Pole dominating her opening five matches probably backfired in some ways.
On Thursday, the Polish tennis star failed to clinch her first Australian Open final ticket after missing out on a match point before the 14th-ranked sealed a 5-7 6-1 7-6 (8) win in an absolute thriller.
Throughout the match, there wasn’t much separating the two as Keys played very courageously and she was delivering – she finished with 36 winners.
Still, Swiatek had a chance to win the match when she broke the American in the 11th game for a 6-5 third-set lead and earned a match point on her serve.
After failing to realize a match point, the five-time Grand Slam winner also led 7-5 in the super tie-break before losing five of the next six points.
Iga Swiatek and Madison Keys© Australian Open/Instagram – Fair Use
Usually, the 23-year-old is the one who delivers when it matters the most.
But this time, she didn’t.
Schett: Swiatek was rushed… Maybe she was lacking those pressure points
“She was rushed. The ball striking from the forehand wing from Keys was phenomenal,” the former Austrian tennis star told Eurosport.
“There were unforced errors in the first set until she was down 5-2, then she just put a bit more spin in and didn’t play too close to the sidelines.
“The way she was redirecting the shots down the line caused a lot of problems for Iga, who didn’t have a lot of tests early on in her matches at the tournament.
“Maybe that is what she was missing – those pressure points she did feel tight and nervous. In the second set she didn’t win a point on her second serve.”
In her post-match presser, Swiatek acknowledged that she is used to “seizing my opportunities” and she didn’t hide that she was heartbroken over losing a Grand Slam semifinal match in which she had a match point.
Tennis World USA