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.
Osaka eliminated by Samsonova in Madrid
Naomi Osaka was knocked out of the Madrid Open by Liudmila Samsonova after an entertaining second-round battle on Thursday.
Having won her first match on clay for two years against Greet Minnen a day earlier, Osaka was able to force a final set against 15th seed Samsonova but ultimately fell to defeat.
Samsonova won a close encounter 6-2 4-6 7-5 to book a clash with American Madison Keys – who defeated Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets – in the next round.
Osaka had beaten Samsonova at Indian Wells last month and came close to securing another victory as she recovered well from losing the opening set.
But the Japanese star was broken to fall 5-6 behind in the final set, and the Russian made no mistake in ruthlessly closing out the victory.
Data Debrief: Samsonova ends losing streak
This was a crucial win for Samsonova, who came into the match having lost four consecutive contests, including that Indian Wells defeat to Osaka on March 9.
Samsonova did apply plenty of pressure in the final set – forcing five break points compared to just one for Osaka – and was ultimately rewarded in the closing stages of a contest that lasted two hours and 22 minutes.
Azarenka makes history with 200th WTA 1000 win
Victoria Azarenka made light work of progressing into the round of 32 at the Madrid Open and she made history in the progress.
Azarenka, a two-time finalist in Madrid, despatched Tatjana Maria 6-3 6-1 on Thursday.
It brought up her 200th victory at WTA 1000 events, which makes her the first woman to hit that milestone since the format was introduced in 2009.
The former world number one needed just 81 minutes on court to get the job done, and will face Sara Sorribes Tormo in the next round.
Data Debrief
This was Azarenka's first meeting with Maria, and her service game was excellent, with the Belarusian winning 63.2 per cent of her first-serve points. She also saved five break points, having offered up seven, and converted six going the other way.
Azarenka, who has won 10 WTA 1000 events, is 14 clear of next-best Simona Halep (186) on the list of women with the most WTA 1000 match wins.
Raducanu stunned by qualifier Carle in Madrid
Maria Lourdes Carle made a splash at the Madrid Open on Wednesday, as the qualifier sent Emma Raducanu packing.
World number 82 Carle stepped into the void to fill in for Karolina Pliskova, who withdrew prior to the end of the qualifying rounds, to face 2021 US Open champion Raducanu.
It is just the second time Carle has reached the main draw of a WTA 1000 event, and she ensured it would be a memorable campaign after a 6-2 6-2 victory over Raducanu, who is now ranked at world number 221, though has enjoyed something of a return to form this season.
Raducanu reached the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Grand Prix last week, going down to world number one Iga Swiatek, but has recently enjoyed victories over the likes of Angelique Kerber and Caroline Garcia.
Data Debrief
Carle is the first player from Argentina to defeat a former women's singles grand slam Champion since Nadia Podoroska overcame Serena Williams in Rome in 2021.
The 24-year-old is making just her sixth WTA main draw appearance, with her first WTA 1000 appearance having come in Miami in March.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
