Calm Swiatek finding solutions to rally to victory

[March 14, 2022]  Indian Wells, Calif. (Reuters) - Former French Open champion Iga Swiatek feels her work with her sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz was finally paying off as the 20-year-old is now able to regularly stay calm and confident to bounce back from adversity on court.

In the past Swiatek felt her world was falling apart when she was losing a tennis match but she is now able to find a different mental zone, the Pole said after her 6-7(3) 6-2 6-1 win against Danish teenager Clara Tauson at Indian Wells.

The victory on Sunday was a second straight match and fourth time in the 2022 season that Swiatek managed to rally to victory after losing the opening set.

"I think my work that I've been doing with Daria is clicking and mentally I feel that I have more skills right now to just stay calm and think about solutions," Swiatek told reporters after reaching the fourth round of the WTA 1000 event.

"Before I struggled with emotions a little bit and sometimes I wasn't choosing the right path to change something. I don't know. After I lost the first set I remember I wanted to be like more pumped up and have more energy but right now it's like more focused and, yeah, it's easier for me to find solutions."

Abramowicz travels with the 2020 French Open champion around the globe and the world number four feels it has helped her change her outlook towards the sport.

Iga Swiatek (POL) hits a shot as she defeats Anhelina Kalinina (UKR) in her 2nd round match at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Swiatek reached the semi-final of her season-opening event in Adelaide in January before making her maiden Australian Open semi-final the same month. Her first title of the season came in the WTA 1000 event in Qatar in February.

"Before when I was losing I felt like my whole life is bad and like the base of my existence is suddenly destroyed because I'm losing a tennis match," she added.

"Right now I have more distance to everything and I can see clearly."

(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Shri Navaratnam)

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