French Open: Iga Swiatek Reveals Radical Change After Blasting Boisterous Crowd During High-Octane Naomi Osaka Match

Despite putting on a gritty display to complete a nerve-wracking win over Naomi Osaka, Iga Swiatek caused a controversy after complaining about the fans present inside the stadium. In what was a tense environment, there were too many occasions where fans’ noise could be heard in between the points. Swiatek wasn’t happy with this as it made her lose her focus. However, the Polish star’s complaint seems to have been heard as she made a heartening revelation earlier today.

The World Number 1 was up against Anastasia Potapova in the fourth-round match today. Swiatek put on a dominant display to wipe out Potapova in straight sets 6-0, 6-0. The match lasted just 40 minutes and became one of the quickest matches to complete in the tournament’s history. Swiatek pointed out this domination as a reason behind the crowd being less noisy today.

She revealed, “I think the crowd was calmer also because you know I didn’t play such a high-intensity match as against Naomi because obviously that was like a popcorn kind of match and everybody was really excited and pumped up for it.”

Further, she added, “The next ones were um I felt like I had everything under control so also I think the crowd felt that as well so um I think people are listening and um they are respectful so I felt a difference.” With a favorable result, at the same time, Swiatek also hoped that the French crowd still held a good opinion of her! “But I don’t know what’s the reason. I hope they kinda accepted my little speech after the match and they’re not mad at me.”

This is a welcome change for Swiatek as the French Open heads to its business end. While she hasn’t had the best experiences with the crowd here, Swiatek would be relieved to have faced lower decibels today. Thus, Swiatek’s appeal to the French Open crowd seems to have borne fruit.

Iga Swiatek pleads with the French Open crowd

The World Number One’s match against Naomi Osaka was a close encounter. Swiatek had to dig deep to overcome the challenge of the Japanese star. As if the tension on the court wasn’t enough, the crowd also made it difficult for Swiatek as there was continuous noise in between the points. Swiatek, in particular, seemed disturbed by it and after the match, made an appeal to the fans.

She said, “I’m sorry to even bring this [up]. I have huge respect for you guys [the fans] and I know that we are basically playing for you because this is entertainment and we’re also earning money because of you. But sometimes under a lot of pressure, when you scream something during the rally or right before the return, it’s really hard to be focused.”

Subsequently, Swiatek also highlighted that the players go all the way on the court to give their best and in turn, make it exciting for the fans to watch. She requested the fans not to cause disturbance while the play was going on. Nonetheless, things seem to improve as Swiatek didn’t face this problem in the match against Potapova. Hopefully, things will remain like this and Swiatek can have smooth sailing, as far as her encounter with the crowd is concerned.