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At the WTA 1000 in Cincinnati, the world number one Iga Swiatek left the scene in the semifinals, defeated by Coco Gauff in three sets. At the US Open 2023, the defending champion of the American Slam will have to regain her physical and psychological shape in time to defend the tournament from the onslaught of her rivals.
And in Flushing Meadows there will be at least five rivals who will be able to put the no.1 of the WTA ranking in difficulty. Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Ons Jabeur and also Marketa Vondrousova. All Slam winners or Grand Slam finalists, and who are comfortable on the US hard-courts.
Coco comes from the victory in Cincinnati, where she showed excellent psycho-physical shape. Sabalenka and Rybakina will have to work off some physical problems, but on hard-courts they are both dangerous, especially with service and forehand.
As demonstrated by the final between the two in Melbourne at the beginning of the year. Ons Jabeur knows well how to reach a final in New York: what the 3-time Grand Slam finalist lacks and one last mental step, that nastiness needed to win a Grand Slam, which allows you to keep the pressure at bay, as has not happened in the recent Wimbledon Finals 2023.
Vondrousova comes from Wimbledon victory and, on hard-courts, on a stage like the Arthur Ashe Stadium, she can do well. However, she will have to find continuity to put pressure on Iga Swiatek and the other girls.
Iga on the US Open 2023
After the loss to Gauff in Cincinnati, Swiatek explained: "It's difficult to do an honest analysis because the game was so long.
Overall I'm very happy with these three tournaments I've played: Warsaw, Montreal and here. There are definitely things I want to work on. It's always like this when you lose. But overall today I fought to the end. It's something I should be proud of.
I certainly wish the result was different. Coco is a great player, so I guess she deserved it more. From my point of view I would say my fuel tank is almost empty. Honestly, there isn't any kind of regret much as I am happy with the days off to come.
Coco played excellent tennis. I have to check, but I think her first serve was better than most games we've played against each other, faster. US Open? When I lose, I always fight and I always do my best. Even if I'm not playing the best tennis, I can still play better tennis than my opponents.
This is a good thing. But for sure, the key is to win. I will only work on these things that are on my mind because there are things I want to do better at the US Open. Finally I'll actually have time to work on it because we haven't really had much time to train this season."