World No. 1 Iga Swiatek admits she would like to win the Madrid Open but insists that not having one in her collection isn’t weighing on her mind and putting additional pressure on her to do well at Caja Magica this year.
Swiatek, who is by far the player with the most clay success over the last few years, has three French Open titles in her collection and she is also a two-time champion at a WTA 1000 tournament in Rome and also has two titles at a WTA 500 tournament in Stuttgart.
Since Swiatek already has multiple wins at the French Open and Rome, a WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid remains the only big clay tournament she hasn’t won yet.
“Obviously [winning Madrid would mean] a lot. Winning any tournament like that, a big one, is a big thing. It’s not something you get used to. You always want to fight for it,” Swiatek said after her opening win in Madrid.
Iga Swiatek © Getty Images Sport – Clive Brunskill
Swiatek on if she is feeling extra pressure to win Madrid
After a first-round bye, Swiatek started her Madrid campaign with a routine 6-1 6-4 win over Wang Xiyu.
“I don’t think that way. Basically, I don’t think about winning at the beginning anyway,” Swiatek insisted when asked if not having a Madrid title in her collection was weighing on her mind.
“Obviously every tournament has different atmosphere and is special in its own way. But on the other hand, it’s a WTA 1000, and it doesn’t really matter at the end which one I’m going to win. Every big tournament I win is going to give me confidence no matter where it is or what it looks like.
“So I don’t really mind. I’m going to try to win every tournament I play at and that’s all.”
Iga Swiatek © Getty Images Sport – Clive Brunskill
After making the Madrid round-of-16 in 2021, Swiatek reached the Madrid final in her second appearance last year but failed to win the title after losing to Aryna Sabalenka.
On Saturday, Swiatek will be clashing against Sorana Cirstea in the Madrid third round.
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