Cori Gauff acknowledged that Iga Swiatek has been doing important things over the past year, but stressed that the Pole’s achievements «are not an impossible goal.» Gauff, who turns 19 on Monday, is already a Grand Slam finalist and is ranked No. 4 in the world.
On the other hand, Swiatek has three Grand Slams and has been ranked No. 1 for the past 12 months. Against Swiatek, Gauff has zero wins and six losses. Gauff has great respect for Swiatek’s game, but stressed that, as a competitor, she cannot allow herself to think that the Pole is much better than her and unbeatable.
Gauff: Nobody sees Swiatek as an impossible game
«Obviously she [Iga Swiatek] it is doing very well but no one sees it as an impossible goal. I mean, she’s just a tennis player. I’m not trying to downplay her accomplishments, she’s beaten me many times.
But I feel like you can’t see the game that way. This is a person who is sticking out on the level right now, but I guess you can’t look at it in a far away way because you want it to be you one day. She’s one of those players you have to learn from, but I also guess don’t put yourself too high on a pedestal because that’s going to be your opponent at the end of the day.
So I think it’s like a catch-22 there. That’s like now with a lot of the guys, with the Big 3, Rafa and Novak. I think it’s a little bit the same way that guys have to put them on that pedestal, but when you play against them, you can’t think about everything they’ve done on the court,» Gauff explained, according to sportskeeda.
Last year, Gauff reached her first Grand Slam final at the French Open. In his first Grand Slam final, Gauff suffered a 6-1 6-3 loss against Swiatek.
