Former world No 1 Mats Wilander believes Iga Swiatek has shown she is “vulnerable” in recent tournaments and claimed the Polish star is in “a moment of concern” ahead of the US Open.
The tennis legend argued Swiatek should follow the example of her idol Rafael Nadal as he assessed the Spanish great was successful in playing a clay-court style across all surfaces.
Swiatek will try to win her sixth Grand Slam title at the 2024 US Open, where she will face world No 104 and lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova in the first round.
The world No 1 secured her only major title outside of the French Open at the 2022 US Open, while she reached the fourth round at Flushing Meadows last year.
After claiming her fourth Roland Garros crown in June, Swiatek reached the third round at Wimbledon, the semi-finals at the Paris Olympics, where she won a bronze medal, and the semi-finals at the Cincinnati Open.
Wilander feels Swiatek’s recent form indicates she is vulnerable on all surfaces and suggested she should try to use her French Open playing style at all tournaments.
We actually really did think that she was going to have a really good chance to win Wimbledon,” Wilander told Eurosport.
“Of course, she was going to the Olympics on her favourite surface, on her favourite stadium, and she didn’t win. And now she didn’t win in Cincinnati, which, again, is not her favourite surface. It plays very fast.
“So I think she’s showing that she’s vulnerable not only on hard courts and grass, but even on clay courts at the Olympics. There’s a moment of concern. I think she’s still searching.
“To me she needs to start thinking about, ‘how do I win tennis matches on clay and try to play like that on other surfaces, and realising I am never going to win as much on hard court and grass than I have at Roland Garros.’
“Just look at her big idol, Rafael Nadal. He did exactly that. He won a lot of tournaments trying to play clay-court tennis, most of the matches.
“And she needs to get back to playing like she does at Roland Garros. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work, but that’s where she’s comfortable. The style of tennis is what she needs to get back to playing.”
