World No. 1 Swiatek ready to get back to the grind
- Doha: This is where it all started for Iga Swiatek at the Qatar Total Energies Open exactly 12 months ago. The Pole's season in the sun.
- Her 37-match winning streak, a run that brought her six titles and elevated her to the world No. 1 ranking. A year in which she won two Grand Slam titles Roland Garros and the US Open.
- The 21-year-old's wordplay, however, is quizzical. "Last season was so strange, it can actually mess with your head a little bit," Swiatek said of a run that brought her eight titles in all.
- It was from that 'strange' space, heightened expectations, that she came away with her biggest lessons.
- Swiatek, who opens her campaign here in the second round, most likely against American Danielle Collins on Wednesday, said her focus was on lowering expectations for herself.
- "I'm not going to play perfectly all the time," she said. "I really want to get both feet on the ground, just focus on hard work and what I have to do on the court."
- Swiatek, who arrived for her media conference in cycling shorts, a style she owns, is not comparing seasons.
- "I feel like every year is a different story, every tournament is a different story," she said. "It doesn't make sense for me to think about last year's tournament and think that it's the same story. It's not, a lot can happen in one year.
- "I want to start this tournament any other player, we all start from the same spot," she said.
- Swiatek pressed the reset button post the Australian Open, where she fell in straight sets to Elena Ryba kina in the round-of-16 in January.
- The world No. 1, placed at No. 21 in the WTA Race as she went without a title in her first two starts, fell to Jessica Pegu- la, winning just four games in the United Cup Down Under
- "I feel like I'm still at the same spot, I tried to look at the race and focus on actually competing with other players. I feel like looking at the race is going to help me look forward and not at what happened inthe past."
- The rankings, which takes into account a 12-month cycle, rewards consistency, which has long been Swiatek's goal- post. That No. 1 spot, however, isn't without baggage. "Some- times you can feel the pressure, every player wants to play their best game against you," she said.