Top seed Iga Swiatek says the pressure of not wanting to lose at the Australian Open got to her and believes she needs a change of mindset after her fourth-round loss to Elena Rybakina.
The three-time grand slam champion had come into the Australian Open as the title favourite but was bundled out by 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina 6-4 6-4 in one hour and 30 minutes on Sunday.
The Kazakh's power was too much for Swiatek, with Rybakina outstanding on serve, leading to apparent frustration from the world number one as the match slipped away.
"I felt the pressure, and I felt that I don't want to lose instead of I want to win," Swiatek told reporters. "So that's a base of what I should focus on in next couple of weeks.
"It was just tough. But for sure I need to work on my kind of mindset and fight a little bit more as I did last season.
"So, for sure I'm going to take time right now to kind of reset."
Swiatek won both the US Open and French Open titles in 2022, while she went on a 37-match winning streak that ended during Wimbledon.
The 21-year-old Pole denied that the pressure of being the world number one played a part in her exit.
"I don't think that matters," she said. "I experience it differently because I felt differently.
"But I was number one on Roland Garros, I was number one on Wimbledon, and US Open. I was able to - maybe not on Wimbledon - but I was able to play well and compete. I don't think that matters."
Swiatek was able to bounce back from her third-round Wimbledon loss to Alize Cornet quickly by triumphing at Flushing Meadows only two months later but she would not draw an parallels with Sunday's defeat.
"I don't see that many similarities, honestly," Swiatek said. "I feel like it's pretty easy. I just wasted too much energy before the tournament and during the first days of the tournament to worry.
"It's just different period of time for me. Before the US Open I was actually able to kind of let it go because I played pretty bad in Toronto and Cincinnati, and that helped me kind of to reset and just start the US Open without actually expecting much from myself.
"Here was different, so I'm not connecting the US Open with the streak at all. I'm not comparing this situation to my Wimbledon loss."
Swiatek praised Rybakina, who will face Jelena Ostapenko in the quarter-finals, for her play on Sunday, stating she was tactically composed and focused.
Sinner: Italy handled the pressure to retain Davis Cup
Jannik Sinner believes his Italy team-mates handled the pressure of representing their country well as they retained the Davis Cup on Sunday.
Italy beat the Netherlands in the final, with Matteo Berrettini and Sinner both winning their singles matches in straight sets to clinch the title.
They are the first team to retain the Davis Cup since the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013, and, after also winning the Billie Jean King Cup last week, they are only the third nation to claim both trophies in the same season in the last 30 years.
Sinner, on the back of an incredible season that saw him win the Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals, became just the second player in the Open Era to finish a calendar year by winning at least one set in every match throughout a season since Roger Federer in 2005.
"We are very happy to be back here holding this trophy. It feels like we are in Italy," Sinner said.
"You have a different pressure and a different weight of having Italy on your shoulders - I think we handled it really well.
"If it was not important, I would not be here. For me, it means so much to me."
However, Sinner's year has been disrupted by an ongoing doping controversy, which has cast doubt on his immediate future in the sport.
"Of course, it's [the doping case] in the head a little bit," Sinner said.
"The most important part is all the people who know me as a human being trust me - that's why I kept playing the level I have.
"I was emotionally a bit down, a bit heartbroken. Sometimes life gives you difficulties, and you just have to [deal with] it."
Berrettini missed last year's Davis Cup through injury, but still went to Malaga to support his team as they won the title.
"I would tell him 'don't give up'," Berrettini said of his former self from 12 months ago. "Last year was really nice to be here, but at the same time, I remember a moment, like, why did I come?
"But after the whole week, I said it was really important for you to come, because I support them, but also for me. I took so much energy from those matches.
"I once again realised how much I care about the Davis Cup. And living those moments, I took all this energy, and I was like next year, you're going to be here, you're going to be fighting for Italy.
"I used that as an engine for the training sessions and everything that happened afterwards."
Sinner guides Italy to back-to-back Davis Cup triumphs
Jannik Sinner capped his outstanding year by helping Italy retain the Davis Cup, beating Tallon Griekspoor to ensure Italy downed the Netherlands 2-0 in Sunday's final.
World number one Sinner overcame Griekspoor 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 after Matteo Berrettini had registered a 6-4 6-2 win over Botic van de Zandschulp in the opener.
Sinner saved the only two break points of the first set as Griekspoor put up a fight, but the Italian put on a show in the tie-break to inch ahead.
Griekspoor hit back after giving up an early break in the second set, but Sinner immediately responded with two further breaks, with the Dutchman double-faulting for the first then wildly miscuing with a backhand for the second.
Sinner was untroubled from then on, sealing a triumphant end to a spectacular season.
The Italian has only dropped one set throughout that streak, finishing a year that saw him win the Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals with a 73-6 singles record.
Data Debrief: Sensational Sinner leads the way
This has been a truly remarkable year for Sinner, who has become the first man in the Open Era to win at least one set in every match throughout a season since Roger Federer in 2005.
His victory ensured Italy became the first team to retain the Davis Cup since the Czech Republic triumphed in 2012 and 2013.
Italy also captured the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week, and they are just the third nation to claim both trophies in the same season in the last 30 years, after the Czech Republic in 2012 and Russia in 2021.
Sinner and Berrettini send defending champions Italy into Davis Cup final
Jannik Sinner's victory over Alex de Minaur clinched Italy's place in another Davis Cup final, with Matteo Berrettini also victorious as the defending champions beat Australia 2-0.
Italy won the Davis Cup for the first time since 1976 last year, and they will have an opportunity to defend their crown against the Netherlands on Sunday.
Former Wimbledon finalist Berrettini got the ball rolling with an entertaining 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 7-5 victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis, not surrendering a break after losing the opener in a tie-break.
That teed up Sinner to close out Italy's victory, with the world number one overcoming De Minaur 6-3 6-4, the same scoreline he beat the Australian by at the ATP Finals earlier this month.
Speaking after his victory in Malaga, Sinner said: "It means a lot. It was a tough encounter, playing Alex. We know each other quite well now, so I have to be very careful every time.
"It's a very tough challenge for me, so I was looking forward to this one. Obviously, it helped a lot that Matteo won the singles today. He played amazing tennis. It was very high quality.
"Hopefully, this can give us some confidence for [Sunday]. It's going to be a very difficult and tough day for us and also the Netherlands."
Data Debrief: Back-to-back for Italy
Italy's men are looking to follow in the footsteps of their female counterparts, who won the Billie Jean King Cup earlier this week.
They are just the third nation in history to make back-to-back finals at both the Davis Cup and the Federation/Billie Jean King Cup, after the United States (1963-64, 1978-79, 1981-82 and 1990-91) and Australia (1963-64 and 1964-65).
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