It was the 2023 French Open final. Iga Swiatek was up against Karolina Muchova in the summit clash, hoping to win her third title there. While she was the favorite to win that contest, Muchova put her best foot forward and produced a thrilling finale. However, she fell short as Swiatek kept her calm at crucial junctures to win the match in three sets. Months later, the two have now met at the United Cup. Booking Poland into its third United Cup quarterfinals, Swiatek had some kind words for her opponent after their match.
Poland was up against the Czech Republic in the pre-quarterfinals at the United Cup. Swiatek produced a scintillating performance in that tie, winning her match against Muchova in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. With this, she also became the first player to win 10 matches at the United Cup. Subsequently, Swiatek reminisced about the memories of playing against Muchova and shared a heartfelt message on social media.
Sharing a picture with Muchova via a story on her official Instagram handle, Swiatek wrote, “Always a privilege to share court with you @karolinamuchova.” After her singles encounter, Swiatek also teamed up with Hubert Hurkacz to notch up a win over Muchova and Tomas Machac and win the tie 2-1. Thus, Swiatek was the star of the show as she led her nation into the United Cup quarterfinals.
During an interview after her match, Swiatek also made a candid revelation about playing against Muchova. “Honestly, I love playing Karolina. She always brings precision and intensity. She has a different game than most of the girls. It was a challenge. I was happy I got my intensity higher in the last two games. You looked like you were just enjoying your tennis,” Swiatek said.
Meanwhile, Swiatek is looking to get back to winning tournaments after a poor end to the 2024 season. Ahead of the Australian Open, she underlined her new year resolution.
The Pole was embroiled in a doping controversy toward the end of the last season due to which she lost momentum in the latter half of the season. However, she is aiming for a fresh start this year and is already impressive at the United Cup. During an interview at the tournament, she pointed out if she had any New Year resolutions.
Swiatek said, “Nothing specific, honestly. I feel like I can have more distance after what happened to me the last couple of months. I’m gonna try to just enjoy tennis as I did today. It’s not always easy to do that. But I feel a lot of positive energy here in Sydney. Thank you for cheering for us.”
Further, Swiatek’s teammate at the United Cup, Hubert Hurkacz, is all praise for the former World Number 1. She played an instrumental role in guiding her nation to this stage and Hurkacz is impressed with her role in the team. He said, “Iga is just so solid and you really can count on her shots.”