Iga Swiatek is already on her path to replicate Rafael Nadal’s French Open success, but whether she can emulate her idol on the lush lawns of Wimbledon remains to be seen. The Pole is yet to get past the fourth-round hurdle at SW19.
Nadal, who has a record 14 French Open titles, won his first Slam outside of the French Open at the 2008 Wimbledon championships. He would then return to lift the trophy again in 2010.The Spaniard’s topspin-heavy forehand was not the most effective shot on the low-bouncing grass, but that did not stop him from achieving success at Wimbledon. And if Tennis Australia game analysis senior manager Simon Rea’s words are anything to go by, Swiatek is following a similar trajectory.
Rea, who has previously coached Nick Kyrgios, in his interview with AusOpen.com drew parallels between Nadal and Swiatek, who already has four French Open titles to her name at the young age of 23. He insisted that both players are looking to “continually grow” and improve their technique.
“There are parallels between [Rafael Nadal] and [Iga Swiatek] in their want to continually grow and improve from a technical perspective,” Rea said. “Swiatek has also changed her serve technique; she’s not standing still here, and this is why she’s such a great champion.”
Further analyzing Iga Swiatek’s game, Simon Rea said that the Pole may not be able to replicate Elena Rybakina’s success on sleeve but can still improve her chances by making even slight adjustments.
“If her second-serve points won percentage just creeps above 50% this year, that could be really compelling. If her first-serve-unreturned percentage – the ability to generate cheap points on her serve – rises, say, from 26% to 35%, I think that makes a world of difference for her. She may not have to get it to 50%, like Elena Rybakina,” he said.
Rea said the Pole’s main focus should be on winning short points, especially those between 0-4 shots. These small steps, according to him, will improve Swiatek’s chances of following in Rafael Nadal’s footsteps and capturing the Wimbledon title.
“What does all of this translate to? It comes down to short points won. At Iga’s last two Wimbledons she’s won 53% of those short points played, in the 0-4 shot range. Vondrousova won 58%, Rybakina won 56%,” Rea said.
“If Swiatek’s serve and return stuff improves even 5%, I think she’s right there. There’s no good reason why she can’t translate that to being a legitimate title contender on the grass,” he added.
Swiatek will be the top seed at this year’s Wimbledon Championships. Nadal, meanwhile, has decided to skip the Slam to focus on Paris Olympics.
