'Amount of hate I get for losing a set...': Swiatek slams 'ridiculous' fan comments after Cincinnati comeback
Iga Swiatek opened up about the hate comments she received over “losing a set.”
Poland’s Iga Swiatek has urged tennis fans to be more sympathetic towards players. Calling for an end to online hate and condemnation, Swiatek encouraged people to be ‘more thoughtful’ while commenting on social media. Swiatek’s latest remarks come after she was severely criticised for dropping the opening set against Chinese opponent Zheng Qinwen at the Cincinnati Open on Thursday. Eventually, Swiatek scripted a resounding comeback to clinch a 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 win in the round of 16 clash.
“Today’s match wasn’t perfect. We all saw that. But the amount of hate and criticism me and my team get after losing a set is ridiculous. I want to encourage people to be more thoughtful when they comment on the Internet. We all sacrifice a lot. We’re all working really hard to be in that place. We’re always giving 100% of what we can do every day. It’s sad for me to see that people I work with and myself, we’re really judged,” Swiatek said.
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The current world number one even revealed that she had faced a similar kind of situation after her defeat in the Dubai final. “Sometimes I feel like it's just unnecessary, and I'm always, you know, doing my best. It's not possible to perform your best game all the time. I also saw that after Dubai and Doha when I won a tournament and then was in the final, I was pretty proud of my results, but people really kind of just saw the last match and that I lost in the final, and they shouldn't. So, I wish they could see the positive side as well,” Swiatek recalled.
The top-seed Polish kicked off her Cincinnati Open campaign with a convincing 6-1, 6-0 win against America’s Danielle Collins in the round of 32. Swiatek faced some trouble during the initial phase of the round of 16 tie against Zheng Qinwen. The Chinese player looked in fine form as she comfortably claimed the opening set. Swiatek started the second set on a promising note and soon she found herself leading 5-0. The Polish carried forward her brilliance in the final set and breezed past her Chinese opponent.
The win against Qinwen helped Swiatek in booking a quarter-final berth. At the next stage of the Cincinnati Open, the world no.1 will face Czech player Marketa Vondrousova today. Swiatek will now be aiming to qualify for the semi-final of the Cincinnati Open for the very first time in her career. Vondrousova recorded a 7-5, 6-3 victory against America’s Sloan Stephens to set up her quarter-final fixture against Swiatek.