Heartbreaking scenes at the 2024 US Open! World number one tennis star, Iga Swiatek gets knocked out from the tournament at the hands of America’s Jessica Pegula. This is Pegula’s fourth career win over Swiatek and guess what? She has now also become the fourth American in the Open Era to reach women’s singles SF at the Canadian Open, Cincinnati Masters, and the US Open in a calendar year. Pegula was literally over the moon with this emphatic result. However, Iga Swiatek was in tears after this devastating loss. Several fans and tennis experts have raised a few question marks on the cameraman for putting focus on Swiatek’s crying moments.
Some of them heavily criticized ESPN for showing Iga Swiatek crying in the back. Renowned tennis journalist, Ben Rothenberg took to X to express his concern. He wrote, “I don’t understand how players haven’t rioted about these intrusive eyes backstage at Slams yet. There’s just so little deference shown to players who clearly think they are behind closed doors.”
Now, if we take a look at her performance in this match and the reason behind his breakdown, Iga Swiatek had not been broken since the R1. However, she dropped serve with a double fault in the opening game and again in the third against Pegula. She also struggled with her forehands in this match with 22 out of her 41 unforced errors coming on that side. Her frustration kept on creeping as the match progressed further. She was even seen making her racquet at the top of the net and slapping her right thigh after a forehand flew wide. Swiatek literally broke down in tears after this disappointing performance in such a vital match in her career.
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What’s your reaction? Did Iga Swiatek’s tearful breakdown after her US Open defeat break your heart? React! Reactions
We saw her cover her face with her hand and her cap as she broke down in tears after winning the French Open this year. However, that was perhaps a tear of joy with more of a sense of relief, but this time it was different. Even at that time, several tennis fans criticized the cameramen for zooming too close to her crying face. It’s never nice to see champions like these, but that’s the beauty of the brutal nature of every sport. One throws hands in the air to celebrate victories while the other one rushes into the dressing room to hide their face. What did Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek say after the match?
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“You’re not going to win if you make so many mistakes” – Iga Swiatek’s brutal admission after the devastating loss
Jessica Pegula threw her hands into the air after securing one of the biggest victories in her career in front of a handful of home crowd. This is her seventh major QF, and what a moment to do that! During her post-match interview, Pegula said, “I’ve been (to the quarters) so many freaking times – I just kept losing. Finally, I can say semifinalist.” She was quite wary of the threats that may come up when she faced someone like Swiatek. So, as soon as she found a little opening, she literally pounced on her ‘prey’. She said, “I could tell right away she was frustrated on the serve.”
Clearly, Swiatek struggled a bit with her serves in the first set but then in the second perhaps it was too late for her to recover. Pegula got full control of the match and managed to cruise into the semis of her home Slam. Even Swiatek admitted that she couldn’t find the right solutions to make a comeback in this match.
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She added, “I probably didn’t find the right solution because I couldn’t push with my serve. Also, I wasn’t that solid from the baseline to have a backup like that. You’re not going to win if you make so many mistakes, and I made those and it’s on me.” Iga Swiatek admitted facing a tricky campaigner like Jessica Pegula is “never easy,” but things could’ve been a bit different if she committed less mistakes in this match. However, fans are now curious to know, what’s next for Iga Swiatek this year.
Well, here’s some good news for all those curios fans: She will retain the number one spot through next week regardless of this recent result in NY. Swiatek has also revealed that she isn’t planning for a long break at the moment and she’s “ready” to play till November. What are your thoughts on Swiatek’s performance at the 2024 US Open?