July 1st 2023.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek is targeting her first Wimbledon crown and is well prepared ahead of her opening match on Monday. The world No.1, fresh off a successful Roland-Garros tournament, will face world No.33 Zhu Lin, and is confident she can put up a good fight on the grass court.
Swiatek had been playing in Bad Homburg to prepare for the Championships, but an illness forced her to withdraw from the semi-finals on Friday. She tweeted that she had a fever and possible food poisoning, but has since reassured her fans that she is feeling better.
"I'm okay," she said. "We did some measurements with my conditioning coach in the morning and they didn't really look good because I barely slept. I had a stomach ache, but I don't know if there was something wrong or not. Later in the day I felt okay, so I'm pretty sure it's going to be fine."
Swiatek may not have had much success on grass courts in the past, but she is determined to change that. She is working hard with her coach to improve her skills on the surface, and is looking to draw inspiration from other players.
"I believe the best players, they can play on all surfaces," she said. "I want to kind of become that kind of player who can play well on grass, as well, and feel comfortable there. For sure I'm doing my best to just work on my skills. Last year I feel like we've done a pretty good job with my coach in terms of my touch and getting back slices and also playing slice sometimes."
Despite the limited preparation time, Swiatek is remaining optimistic for Wimbledon. She is hoping that if she had more time to play on grass, she would be able to play better and better. With the support of her fans and her improved grass court skills, Swiatek is looking forward to making Wimbledon history.
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