Top News: World No.1 “Iga Swiatek” makes a very interesting and horryfying revelation about…
Tennis is a mental sport. It is a discipline where the management of emotions, pressure, stress, expectations, among other aspects; they are key for the player to deploy his full potential in a game.
On the professional tour many players work with specialists in the area to strengthen their mentality and be able to succeed at the highest level. One of them is the number one in the world, Iga Swiatek, who has given an interview to the medium “Zwierciardlo” to explain how he works with expectations, with perfectionism. “I am working on my perfectionism, because working for him, under his dictates, is definitely not constructive.
I have been aware of this for some time. And I know that striving for perfection in a certain field is fine, working on what we can influence as well, but accepting mistakes must be included in all of this,” said the four-time champion of Roland Garros, who works with psychologist Daria Abramowicz.
Iga Swiatek has worked a lot
This huge demand of its own could lead the player to suffer with a negative mentality. “It’s one of the traits I work on most intensely.
I’m trying to develop more understanding and uplifting patterns. This allows me to develop and become not only a better sportsman, but also a better person, because what we are talking about applies to all areas of life”, explained Iga Swiatek, who has become one of the players with one of the strongest mentalities in the WTA tour.
“Three or four years ago they told me I was too excited, they accused me of crying during the games. Today I am a model of mental strength on the court and I am not afraid to say that this opinion is well deserved.
I know how much work it entails: my own work and that of Daria (her psychologist) did not happen overnight,” added the Pole. The 23-year-old tennis player revealed the steps to follow in this arduous mental work to express her best level in a tennis court, which has also been able to apply to her daily life.
“I first learned to recognize, name and express my emotions. Then identify the source of the tensions. At the same time, Daria and I were constantly looking for optimal tools that would allow me to reach the level of stimulation and stress that would work for me.
Because I don’t want to reduce the tension to zero. I need him on the court to reach a high level of sport,” said Iga Swiatek, who has just won in Paris and is already aiming for his first victory at Wimbledon.
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Pablo Carreno Busta shares what did job vs Novak Djokovic in bronze medal match upset
In the Tokyo Olympics bronze medal match, Carreno Busta stunned Djokovic in three sets.
Pablo Carreno Busta was banking on one unexpected thing in his Tokyo Olympics bronze medal match as the Spaniard was wondering if the Serb would be mentally impacted after failing to land the gold medal.
Throughout the first seven months of 2021, Djokovic was playing great and he came to Tokyo determined to get that one thing that was missing in his resume. And when the tournament started, the Serb easily got through his opening four matches without a dropped set.
Facing Alexander Zverev in the semifinal, Djokovic was dominating the German and he was comfortably up by a set and a break. That’s when one of the biggest collapses of Djokovic’s career happened and Zverev went on to win 1-6 6-3 6-1.
Even with the loss, Djokovic could have still left the tournament with a medal – but he didn’t come to the tournament for that. Mentally, it was evidently hard for Djokovic to accept what happened and that led to him not playing that well against Carreno Busta, who took advantage of it to win 6-4 6-7 (6) 6-3.
“I was very focused from the start, knowing what I had to do and knowing that maybe he was going to be more affected than me by the semi‐final defeat because his goal was to win gold. He was going to the Olympics to win gold, which was the only thing left for him to do to complete his immense record,” Carreno Busta told Eurosport.
“I knew that mentally it was going to be hard for him and it’s true that he started the match as if he wanted to go very quickly, as if he wanted to say to himself: ‘Well, I’m the best, I’m going to win and that’s it, I’m going to get rid of this guy quickly.'”
What Djokovic said after losing to Carreno Busta?
When planning for the 2021 season, Djokovic had the Olympics circled and he was doing everything to be ready for the event. But because Djokovic was winning a lot, it also had a bit of a negative consequence because it took him a lot to win the French Open and Wimbledon that year.
And since the Tokyo Olympics were starting just two weeks after his 2021 Wimbledon win, Djokovic had to quickly go from grass to hard courts. Also, many already declaring the Serb the winner of the Olympics didn’t help either.
However, Djokovic looked pretty well in Tokyo as he easily made the semifinal in singles and he reached the same stage with Nina Stojanovic in the mixed doubles event. But then, everything collapsed.
After falling short in the singles bronze medal match and also withdrawing from the mixed doubles bronze medal match, Djokovic admitted he was exhausted in every way possible but added that he didn’t regret coming to the Olympics.
“I do have a regret for not winning a medal for my country. Opportunities missed both in doubles and singles. I didn’t deliver yesterday and today, the level of tennis dropped, also due to exhaustion, mentally and physically,” Djokovic said after the loss.
“But I don’t regret coming to the Olympics at all. I believe there is no coincidence in life, everything happens for a reason, and I had some heartbreaking losses at Olympic Games and some big tournaments in my career, and I know that those losses have usually made me stronger, in every aspect.
“I know that I will bounce back. I will try to keep going for Paris Olympic Games, I will fight for my country to win medals and I’m sorry that I disappointed a lot of sports fans in my country, but that’s sport.
“I gave it all, whatever I had left in the tank, which was not so much. I felt it out on the court. The consequences physically hopefully will not create a problem for me for US Open. That’s something that I’m not sure about right now. But I’m not regretting giving it all because, when you play for your country, that’s necessary.”
Djokovic will try again at the Paris Olympics
After surgically repairing his torn knee meniscus, Djokovic arrived at Wimbledon on Monday and he will decide whether or not to play after a couple of days of practice.
While Djokovic not playing Wimbledon is a possibility, his Olympic participation is now very likely since the Summer Games are starting on July 26th.
Earlier this year, Djokovic hinted he may play when the time comes for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. But that is a long shot and Paris will likely be Djokovic’s final chance at an Olympic gold.
At least for now, the main thing for Djokovic is to avoid any injury or physical setbacks and come to the Olympics fully healthy.
John McEnroe tells Iga Swiatek why she should fear Coco Gauff at Wimbledon
McEnroe thinks Gauff is a Wimbledon favorite and someone who could beat Swiatek this summer.
John McEnroe has shared his take on Wimbledon favorites and that includes Coco Gauff potentially making a big breakthrough against Iga Swiatek.
After winning the French Open and concluding the clay season by winning three consecutive titles, Swiatek opted to rest and not play any tournaments leading up to Wimbledon. While there are some questions that Swiatek needs to answer on grass, no one is taking her Wimbledon chances for granted because she has proved many times over the last two years that she is one of the best when it comes to figuring out things.
Meanwhile, Gauff will enter Wimbledon with three strong Grand Slam results in a row and certainly feeling about her chances of making another great run. But the 2023 US Open champion still has one issue – she has yet to find a winning formula against Swiatek.
After losing to Swiatek at the Rome Open and French Open last week, Gauff fell to a 1-11 record in their head-to-head. But neither of those 12 meetings came on grass. And in McEnroe’s mind, Gauff would definitely have a much bigger shot at beating Swiatek if they met on the fastest tennis surface.
“Coco Gauff is a great player. She’s got the major and knows how to play on the grass. She’s more comfortable on it than Iga Swiatek is. That doesn’t mean Iga isn’t going to figure something out, but she’s more vulnerable on grass than any other surface. It opens the door for some other players,” McEnroe said.
After mentioning Gauff and naming her a favorite, McEnroe also noted that players like Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka are always a big threat on grass with their aggressive styles of play.
“Elena Rybakina, the way she plays, it suits her game more and it’s the same for Aryna Sabalenka, they are big hitters. It’ll be interesting to see what Naomi Osaka can do on the grass. The door is open, for sure.”
Greg Rusedski agrees with McEnroe’s take on Gauff
Before McEnroe, 1997 US Open finalist Greg Rusedski had a similar take on Gauff’s Wimbledon chances. When addressing the upcoming Wimbledon, Rusedski acknowledged Swiatek’s dominance but also noted that the grass was a completely different situation for the Pole.
Then, Rusedski explained why the grass was a much better for surface for Gauff and also added that having coach Brad Gilbert – who knows what it takes to win on grass since he worked with Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick in the past – was also something big.
“Well I think, if you look at her (Swiatek), she’s won four French Opens, one US Open,” Rusedski said last week on Tennis Channel’s Inside-In.
“For Coco, let’s be honest, grass against Iga, she’s licking her lips. She’s thinking, ‘That’s my time to start squaring up this rivalry’. She came to the forefront when she beat Venus Williams and announced herself to the world and the British public at Wimbledon [in 2019].
“And I think Brad Gilbert has done a great job with her, and I think they’re probably saying, ‘Okay, semis [at the French Open] is solid, we didn’t play our best in the semis. But now we got Wimbledon coming on, this is our one after winning the US Open last year.’
“So I think the rivalry will be there, but on clay (Swiatek), it’s like watching Rafa. We’ve got [Roger] Federer, [Novak] Djokovic, [Andy] Murray, [Stan] Wawrinka, all those guys. I’m sorry, it’s just, that’s what Swiatek is now.
“I’m hoping that Coco can bring her A-game to Wimbledon this year and has got a real shot to win. Let’s not forget [Aryna] Sabalenka got ill this year at the French.
“And there’s a few other names, there’s [Elena] Rybakina and players like that on the grass courts. So Wimbledon’s wide open. And you’re talking about Wimbledon coming up — Swiatek is not one of the favorites for the title.”
Gauff has had some preparation, unlike Swiatek
Last week, world No. 2 Gauff kicked off her grass season by participating in a WTA 500 tournament in Berlin. In the German capital, Gauff was supposed to have Swiatek as a competition but that was halted after the Pole decided to pull out of the tournament before it started.
After a first-round bye, Gauff got to play two matches at the tournament as the American overcame Ekaterina Alexandrova and Ons Jabeur before losing a tight semifinal meeting versus Jessica Pegula.
Gauff maybe didn’t win her first Berlin title last week but playing three strong matches there was certainly a good preparation for The Championships.
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