Iga Swiatek has made a swift recovery from illness and is optimistic she will find her feet on the Wimbledon grass.
The world number one claimed her third French Open title in four years in Paris three weeks ago and is looking to complete the set of grand slam surfaces having also won the US Open on hard courts last year.
She sparked alarms by pulling out of her scheduled semi-final at the grass-court event in Bad Homburg on Friday with a fever and possible food poisoning but was at Wimbledon on Saturday and feeling positive.
“I had a really bad night (on Thursday),” she said. “We did with my conditioning coach measurements in the morning. They didn’t really look good because I barely slept.
“I had a stomach ache, but I don’t know if there was something wrong or not. Later in the day I felt OK so I’m pretty sure it’s going to be fine.
“I really feel like I used my time in Bad Homburg to practise and get used to the grass court. I feel every year that I’m getting into the rhythm a little bit faster. So I feel like I’m ready and I’m pretty excited for the tournament.”
Swiatek arrived in SW19 last year on a long winning run but that was brought to an end after 37 matches by a third-round loss to Alize Cornet.
The Pole, who faces China’s Zhu Lin in the first round on Monday, is a former junior champion at the All England Club and sees no reason why she cannot excel in the senior game as well.
“Some years I felt really good on grass, like when I was a junior, then I had some tournaments that I was hoping to play a little bit better,” she said.
“For sure getting used to the grass was always a tricky part because when you play well at Roland Garros, then you have less time to prepare for Wimbledon.
“Last year when I didn’t play any matches before Wimbledon, it was hard to use my intuition because there was pressure. I felt like I’m playing a grand slam and I played so well at Roland Garros that I should play well here as well. But it’s different.
“Your brain kind of has to feel the ball is bouncing lower. You can’t think about things like that during the match. So I think this year it’s going to be a little bit easier for me to use my intuition a little bit more.
“Deeply I believe the best players, they can play on all surfaces. I want to become that kind of player who can play well on grass, as well, and feel comfortable there.
If I would have more time to play on grass, I'm pretty sure that I would be able to play better and better— Iga Swiatek
“Last year I feel like we’ve done a pretty good job with my coach in terms of my touch and getting back slices and also playing slice sometimes. This year I feel like we had more time to focus on the basics, more time to also play matches. I’m using that time as much as possible.
“I was actually thinking last year that maybe it would be good doing part of the pre-season on grass. I heard that Roger (Federer) once did the pre-season at Roland Garros, I think, because he wanted to win Roland Garros later in the season.
“If I would have more time to play on grass, I’m pretty sure that I would be able to play better and better.”
