Tennis - World number one Swiatek seeking key to unlock grass riddle

LONDON: World number one Iga Swiatek may be a two-time Grand Slam champion and on a 37-match winning streak but the 21-year-old, who reached the third round at Wimbledon on Thursday, said she was still trying to find her feet on grass.

The Pole won the Wimbledon junior title in 2018 and is the clear favourite to add the grasscourt Grand Slam to her two French Open titles this year.

But Swiatek still finds grass the trickiest of the surfaces to handle despite reaching the fourth round in 2021.

"It's hard to describe because, well, on grass I feel like everything changes," she told reporters after her laboured second-round win against Dutch lucky loser Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove.

"You have to adjust the movement. I mean, for sure, I really like how I move on court, especially when I can slide, when I can recover quickly. Here I can't really slide. I have to slow down before hitting the ball, so it's tricky."

The grasscourt season is the shortest on the tennis calendar and Swiatek arrived at the All England Club without a competitive match on the surface this year, opting to rest after winning her second Roland Garros title this month.

But the Pole, who faces 37th ranked Frenchwoman Alize Cornet in the third round, is not giving up hope.

"I think I would play well on grass if I would have kind of more time to just play on this surface," said Swiatek, who has won six titles this year. "Yeah, I mean, every year it's only like four weeks, so I feel it's not enough to learn properly.

"I guess I can see other players who learn how to do that, so I still have hope."