“It’s certain that she made fewer mistakes, fewer mistakes than in the matches I won against her. I also played against her in Cincinnati where she also played perfectly, and I had nothing to say,” Swiatek said, referring to Keys’ 6-3 6-4 hard court victory in 2022.
“I know she could do both. I didn’t know which one it was going to be (Thursday). I think she was just stronger than when we played those matches that I won.
ON THE OCCASION: Another year, another local AO champion to look forward to
When evaluating his own game, Swiatek lamented his serve.
“I think maybe I would have won sometimes if I could have won easy points with my serve like she kind of did,” said Swiatek, who committed seven double faults and claimed no only 53 percent of his points came on the first serve.
“She could always come back after having problems with the service, but I didn’t serve as well. So maybe that would make a difference.
The character that she is, Swiatek alongside new coach Wim Fissette will certainly continue to explore ways to further improve her already powerful game, having fine-tuned her serving action early last year.
Keys became the fourth consecutive power base player to beat Swiatek at the Australian Open, following Linda Noskova, Elena Rybakina and Keys’ girlfriend Danielle Collins in the previous three years.
Nonetheless, Swiatek was reassured by her successful Australian summer, which began at the United Cup.
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“Overall, it’s pretty positive,” Swiatek said. “As a person, I feel a little better than in previous years here.
“Of course, the United Cup always brings a lot of positive emotions, but here I always felt tense and really, I don’t know, just like not always happy. This year it was different. That’s for sure May it give me a positive vibe for the rest of the season.
“Obviously, I wanted more. I have already played a semi-final. I wanted to win this one, but I think if I continue to work hard, I will have more chances in the future, and maybe I will use them because I didn’t use my match point.
