On clay, Iga Swiatek is ‘like Martina Hingis on steroids’
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© Getty Images Sport – Clive Mason
Serena Williams’ childhood coach Rick Macci says Iga Swiatek is “a cut above” the rest of the competition and compared the Pole’s clay-court game to “something like Martina Hingis on steroids.” Swiatek, who turned 22 in May, is a four-time Grand Slam champion, with three of her four Slams coming at the French Open.
After going 18-1 on clay last year and winning the French Open, Swiatek went 19-2 on clay this year and also managed to defend her title at Roland Garros. Apart from her clay success, Swiatek has also established herself as a very strong force on hard and she is widely considered the best player in women’s tennis.
The 2023 season wasn’t easy for Swiatek but the 22-year-old still managed to finish the season with a maiden WTA Finals title and beat out Aryna Sabalenka for the Year-End No 1 spot.
Macci: Swiatek on clay is something like Hingis on steroids
“Well, first off, Iga [Swiatek] has proven herself with four Slams, you know, mentally she has proven herself and she’s not going anywhere.
I think she is a cut above, no one’s going undefeated, okay, but I think she is much better mentally than the rest of the field. [Aryna] Sabalenka can be in and out, [Elena] Rybakina can kind of be sprayed around a little bit.
[Coco Gauff’s] forehand is a little dodgy. But I think it’s so fluid, the women’s game because there’s not a lot of people who have been there done that. You know what I am saying, [players] that have that pedigree and won two or three or four or five Grand Slams.
So every female goes in there, has a shot. Maybe not on clay, because on clay Iga is something like [Martina] Hingis on steroids, she just carves off angles and carves you up like a Thanksgiving turkey. She is by far the best, but those would be the people I would keep an eye on.
But it’s so wide open, and all the females know that,” Macci said on the Match…
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Source : tennisworldusa
