Swiatek defends herself after criticism over medical timeout during United Cup victory

Iga Swiatek responds to criticism following accusations of her attitude in the match against Katie Boulter. The 5-time Grand Slam champion defeated the Brit 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the United Cup, securing Poland's spot in the semifinals.

Swiatek has now won three consecutive singles matches at the United Cup, along with two appearances in mixed doubles against Norway and the Czech Republic, both also resulting in victories.

Swiatek refutes accusations of disrupting Boulter

The current world No. 2 faced criticism on social media after the match, with accusations that she deliberately distracted Boulter by requesting a medical timeout. "No, I wasn’t expecting that," Swiatek said. "I didn’t take a medical timeout to throw Katie off her game."

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"I did it because I had to and I didn’t feel well. But I took some, you know, painkillers, and they started working pretty quickly, I was able to move a bit better."

Nevertheless, Swiatek acknowledged that she felt her pause affected her opponent's play. "But yeah, I felt that she got distracted a bit," she said. "She missed some shots right after the break, but it wasn’t my intention, obviously."

"I don’t do these kinds of things to do it tactically, it was just that I needed it."

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One fan posted on social media: "Swiatek with more gamesmanship that makes her so unpopular. Broken, all out of ideas, has an MTO, comes back and cruises through the rest of the match... Straight from the Djokovic manual. MTO's should carry a game penalty."

Another user wrote: "How come every time Iga Swiatek loses a set or a serve she needs an extended toilet break or medical timeout? Second time this match, it’s blatant gamesmanship."

A third fan added: "Totally agree these players take away the momentum of the opposing player. To me, it’s a form of cheating. I feel the rules need to change, maybe they need to lose points. Always done when their opponent has the upper hand."

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