World No. 1 and US Open champion Iga Swiatek speaks to CNN and shares her view of the US Open.
Swiatek has never been to the United States until this week. She took part in the US Open for the second time. She defeated former top five world No. 1 Simona Halep in straight sets.
She was selected to take part in the US Open final on Saturday despite her loss last week to compatriot Daria Kasatkina.
Swiatek says she does not know Kasatkina, but is familiar with her opponent. She says she feels that this is a good match for her.
– Why the US Open final?
“I think this is a good match for me right now,” she said. “I’m really excited because this is a tough match because of how I’ve been on the court. And I expect them to play very well. They worked hard on this match. And they were thinking of this match before the match was over. There was a lot of motivation and this will be fun, I think.”
Kasatkina said after the game, “I think it was a great match. I had a really good time against Iga. I think we’ll meet again.”
Swiatek said, “We had a great match today. I mean after being down 0-4 in this kind of match I think it was just really hard to come back in the next set. She hit some great shots in the third set. I think it just went long. We played really well today.”
Swiatek says it was “just really hard that I had a chance to play. But it was always up to me to play very well and continue. I’m really happy with the way I played.”
The 26th-ranked Swiatek has only reached two Grand Slam quarterfinals, on both occasions in Doha in 2012. This will be her third US Open quarterfinal. She made it to the semi-finals at the 2009 US Open in Doha.
She will face top-seeded Angelique Kerber. “We’ll see who gets through this”, she said.
Swiatek calls Kerber “a really tough opponent.” She said, “I think she’s very, very strong. She’s a great player, but she’s
