World No. 1 and US Open champion Iga Swiatek speaks to CNN
Swiatek won her first major when she triumphed on the US Open final Sunday.
Svetlana Kuznetsova, the top-ranked female tennis player in the world, has expressed her disappointment after losing at the US Open on Sunday by two sets to love to German sixth-ranked Iga Swiatek.
The loss to the 27-year-old third seed has triggered a deluge of comments on social media about her performance and the state of women’s tennis in general.
Swiatek, who is ranked 44th in the world, lost the first set against compatriot Petra Kvitova but came back to love in the second. She had never faced Kvitova in a major before.
Swiatek has one more tournament before the end of the season, the Bank of the West Classic in Australia in January, and had hoped to build her game for the US Open.
However, she lost her chance to defend her title at the tournament when she lost in the first round to American Venus Williams.
Swiatek, who also plays for German team KV, said she had to fight for her life against Kvitova.
“There were moments when she was really hard to get around, and I wasn’t sure I could reach her balls, my shots were quite erratic on the court.”
Swiatek played only one set in the US Open and lost to Kvitova in the second round.
Kvitova has never lost to a woman in a major until Sunday.
“I mean, I have been here before, I am not intimidated by women players,” Swiatek said. “I think it is important that I start with my own strength and to have some success. And I have to try to fight again in the next couple of tournaments.”
Swiatek, who won the Wimbledon junior title in 2005 before turning professional, is a two-time women’s doubles champion in the US Open.
Kvitova, who was also runner-up at the US Open last year, had a chance to return to the title match when she beat Kateryna Bondarenko of Ukraine in the semifinals. Kvitova also beat American Chan Y