"It's a new chapter, for sure, a new process" - Iga Swiatek reiterates patience as Roig partnership begins with victory

The Iga Swiatek-Francisco Roig partnership has commenced with a bang. The six-time Grand Slam champion picked up a commanding 6-2, 6-3 win over Laura Siegemund to book her spot in the quarterfinals of the Stuttgart Open with her stating after the match that this is a 'new chapter' in her tennis career.

Swiatek had no issue on a favourable surface to demolish the German. Just under 90 minutes it took for her to get over the line. There were little problems in getting used to the clay in a competitive scenario. "I adjusted well to the surface. It's for sure slippery," she told reporters. "It's a different kind of feeling, you know, when you play a match and when you practice. So I wanted, yeah, to adjust to that and give myself space to accept that it's not going to be that smooth."

Overall, it was a satisfactory showing in Germany. "It was a positive first match. I, you know, used tactically the things that I practiced, and sometimes also, you know, it was not really straightforward, so I also had some moments where I needed to work, so I'm really happy about this match."

The slippery surface is not something that Swiatek was totally surprised about. She had previously competed on these courts and had that in her mind ahead of stepping onto the court.

"Honestly, I remember it was slippery as well in previous years, so I wouldn't say more than usual," she admitted. "But always the first match you're going to feel it more. Also, Laura plays tricky tennis, so you need to react fast sometimes to these dropshots and everything. But I didn't feel any difference compared to the previous years."

After an early exit in the Miami Open, the Pole had more time to transition to clay and get herself in the best possible condition for a hugely important period in the season. It was dominated by the news of her partnering with Roig after firing Wim Fissette. In tandem to this, she went to the Rafael Nadal Academy where she met the 22-time Grand Slam champion along with Roig, who spent a large part of his career with Nadal. It is not the first time Swiatek has made the trip to the Academy to practice. "I did in 2022 and in 2018, but yeah, you can say for sure it's new compared to last year, because last year I stayed home."

Getting Roig in was not going to eradicate all the bad form and habits instantly, with Swiatek stating that it will take time. "I think some, yes, but sometimes I kind of had my old habits, you know, in some solutions on the court," she said. "But I feel like I remembered well what I had in mind on practices, and I was ready to do that on the court."

She shared her intention to get more matches on the board as she looks to get back to her best. "You can't expect that after, because it was just, I just practiced, like, 10 days with Francisco, you can't expect it's all going to be there already automatically. So I need matches to just, yeah, get that automatic, but I'm pretty happy with what I had in my head today and the ideas that I wanted to do. The other thing is actually doing it, as I said in a postmatch interview, but it was a positive step."

The signs between Swiatek and Roig seem pretty good. Both of them are on the same wavelength when it comes to ideas on court as they hope for a flourishing period of time together. "I mean, I feel like I have a clarity of what to do on the clay court, and I totally agree with what Francisco wants to show me," she commented. "But, you know, if everyone could do 100% every match the ideas, they would win everything, so I need to have space to have some matches and try things out and see how it works."

She is looking to alter her game in some parts, most notably at her serve. It was a very crucial part of tennis which can win or lose you matches. Swiatek's serve, while powerful, is not one of the best on tour and a slight weakness in her game.

This makes it an obvious component to work on. "Well, I changed my serve motion obviously, so this is something that I'm happy about," Swiatek said. "For sure I need matches to just have repetition, you know. I'm trying to have a different approach to my returns, make more returns in, and sometimes not really rush during the rally but, you know, trust my solid game and, you know, remember that I can be more solid than the opponents."

Again, it is not an overnight process with a lot of work set to be put into this. "The muscle memory for sure is not there yet, so it takes time, because I kind of didn't even change my serve exactly after Miami. I was figuring it out in Mallorca. And then after, like, five days there, I kind of saw what motion I want to have, so it's even less time actually than all my practice periods."

On the court, the signs look good. "So I'm happy with it. On the practice court, it's already smooth," she stated. "Sometimes today on the matches I felt like I did some movements perfectly, but somewhere, you know, like the old serve. So it needs time, for sure. It's not the first time I'm doing changes on my serve, and I'm going to be patient about it. Maybe I wasn't completely patient on the court, but I'm trying."

When looking for a new coach, Swiatek opted not to take onboard a fellow Pole. She explained why. "Honestly, I feel like, you know, having Tomasz [Wiktorowski] as my coach before, he was the best Polish coach you can have, so it's not like we have many options for having, you know, experienced coaches from Poland. So I feel like this time, you know, I was looking for someone who has experience with practicing, with knowing how to play on clay and also will have the same kind of ideas in terms of getting back my solid game and not really rushing in the rallies."

Roig being on the market was also a boost for Swiatek. She hovered to the Spaniard due to their similar ways of thinking. "Francisco had similar point of view, so I wasn't, you know, looking at Polish coaches, because we don't have that many coaches."

She was relishing the chance to get this new chapter of her tennis career fully underway. It was a brave decision to take onboard a new coach right ahead of the clay swing as she reiterated that it will take time.

"It's a new chapter, for sure, a new process," she acknowledged. "But, you know, it's my life, so I have all these experiences with me and you need to learn from them. You need to also remember that it takes time to change some stuff, so, you know, I wasn't expecting today to be, like, flawless, especially after the last matches. It's different, you know, coming on a match after having, like, few wins, and it's different coming after bad matches. So I'm giving myself time and space to just work on stuff and get the confidence in and get some, you know, good matches with me."