It is pretty obvious that Iga Swiatek won Roland Garros four times, and in the next few weeks, now she will try to win Wimbledon for the first time. Last year, she lost against the tough competitor, Elina Svitolina. Maybe they can face off again, or maybe not, but the No. 1 Swiatek wants to really try to change in up, on the slick grass. It depends on the day, when it can rain, a lot, or warm and sunny. No one really knows until it started.
Swiatek is on the roll, winning Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros. She played fantastic, almost each match, but now she has to take a breath, and breath, and think about it.
She might have to, as Naomi Osaka almost beat her in the second round, but she came through, 7-5 in the third. However, she rose up, and the former No. 1 Osaka was a little erratic, but already, she is darn good. She has won four Grand Slams, but the Japanese has never gone into the third round at Wimbledon. She must do it ASAP, as on the court, she can be brilliant. But she has to play more consistent.
This week, she is playing at the Libema Open, and she defeating versus Elise Mertens 6-2, 6-4. Impressive.
“I’m kind of taking it as if this is my first year on grass,” Osaka said. “I think even now, this is my first time at this tournament so in some ways I feel like a newbie all over again. I’ve been in Europe since April, so this is a lot of commitment for me. I’m really happy that I’m doing this.”
She is ranking No. 125, so if she can win a few matches, then she will be at Wimbledon, and she won’t have to qualify, unless they will give her a wild card. Either way.
In England, at the Rothesay Open, there are some interesting matches. Almost everyone is there from Britain, such as the No. 30 Katie Boulter, who won it in San Diego on the hardcourts, and that has her best tournament, ever. But after that, she began to struggle, so to go deep in Nottingham, she will drive hard, early. Two of the top seeds are Ons Jabeur and Marta Kostyuk.
The Americans really have a chance to win Wimbledon, with Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Danielle Collins, Madison Keys, and Emma Navarro. None of them have reached into the final, but it is possible, as Serena and Venus Williams did it so many times. Both of them will nail the ball, with there first serves, there backhands, and there returns. Even Serena could also split her forehand, into the corners. The current players have watched her a ton, so then they must have seen them, on the court. Then try to do a new thing. Last year, Marketa Vondrousova won it, beating, believe it or not, Jabeur, in the final. Both of them could go very deep, this time.
The No. 5 Pegula just returned to play in the Netherlands of the Libema Open.The American had not played since April when she got a rib injury. Now she feels much better, and she knows that she will have to play a lot now, on the grass, and the hard courts, and then in Paris on clay in July. Good, luck.
“It’s just such a crazy year with the Olympics squeezed in. With my game, I’d rather be ready for grass and the rest of the hardcourt season and grind out the rest of the year, than try and push it for clay and it doesn’t feel well,” Pegula said.” That’s why we played it safe.”
She says that when she watched during Roland Garros, she thought that the No. 1 is stunning.
“Iga dominated the clay season, what else is new,” Pegula said. “Now we go into grass and I’m sure the grass-court players will do well. I feel like I’m walking back into the same kind of thing. That’s good.”
