World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who outclassed Maria Sakkari (6-4, 6-0) in Sunday’s final of the WTA 1000 Indian Wells, is delighted with her reaction to her failure to win the Australian Open in January.

“How do you feel after this title, the 19th of your career and 8th in the WTA 1000?”

“I’m really proud of myself and very happy. If you only look at the scores, you’d think everything was under control, but it wasn’t that easy from start to finish. I’m happy to have made progress during the tournament. I felt really good in the last two matches, with great confidence. I feel I’ve done a really good job. It wasn’t easy after Australia (elimination in the third round of the Australian Open against Linda Noskova). I worked hard to play well and manage everything mentally. That makes me proud.

“When you say that this tournament wasn’t as easy as it looks, what are you referring to?”
“First of all, I don’t think I was very lucky in terms of the draw, with opponents who had sometimes caused me problems in the past. I lost to Linda (Noskova) in Australia this year. And I was quite stressed before facing Caroline Wozniacki because I hadn’t played her in a long time. I didn’t know how I’d adapt to her game. I have great respect for her. These are the kind of matches where I have to manage my stress. But after that, I felt I could play my game more freely.”

“I used to be the kind of player for whom the serve was just a commitment to get the rally started. Today, I feel I can do more things.

“You’ve improved your service movement. Do you feel an evolution?”
“I feel more and more at ease match after match, not just with my serve but overall. As far as the serve is concerned, I’ve always concentrated on it. Let’s say I was the kind of player for whom the serve was just an engagement to start the rally by pushing the ball into the court. Today, I feel I can do more with my serve. I’m trying to make the right decisions. I guess that was the case today (Sunday).”

“How important is this title for the rest of your season?”
“I don’t know what the future holds. Two years ago, winning here and then in Miami made me realize that I was capable of winning titles on hard courts. But now, I already know. So this time, I’m simply very happy with a job well done. I’m going to work hard to continue playing at this level.”

This post is originally from L’Équipe