WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Shortly after Iga Swiatek completed the most lopsided French Open final in 17 years, ceding a grand total of three games against an overmatched opponent to claim a third consecutive title in Paris, she was asked whether that represented a perfect performance.
Swiatek's mind immediately went to what little went wrong in Court Philippe Chatrier that afternoon.
“Obviously, I mean, I got broken at the beginning,” she said, “so it wasn’t maybe perfect.”
A few minutes later, Swiatek used the word “perfectionist” to describe herself, perhaps offering some insight as to how she is approaching Wimbledon, the grass-court major that begins Monday — and the only Grand Slam tournament where she hasn't been past the quarterfinals.
“Overall, tennis is different on grass,” said Swiatek, who was a junior champion at the All England Club in 2018. “I’ll just see and I’ll work hard to play better there.”
The 23-year-old from Poland has won four of the past five trophies on the red clay at Roland Garros, capped by a 6-2, 6-1 victory against Jasmine Paolini for the championship on June 8.
How does a player beat Swiatek on clay?
“It’s hard. You have to err very little. Match her intensity. Play deep shots. Try to be aggressive whenever there’s an easier ball," said Paolini, who is now ranked in the top 10 but hardly looked that caliber in the final. "But it’s not easy. It wasn’t for me, and it’s a challenge that is the most difficult thing in women’s tennis at the moment. How to do it? I don’t know.”
Swiatek also was the 2022 champion at the hard-court U.S. Open and made it to the Australian Open semifinals on that surface earlier that season. But she is just 9-4 on the grass of the All England Club, by far her worst winning percentage at a Slam.
For someone who talks a lot about wanting to get “better and better,” not to mention someone who wants to do things perfectly on and off the court, it would make sense if she wanted to improve at Wimbledon.
Specifically, that might entail using her serve and her volleys to accumulate more easy points on the slick surface.
As it is, there isn’t much time spent on grass during the grind of the season, and Swiatek pulled out of a tuneup event on that surface after the French Open. She thinks — hopes? — that “competing every year at Wimbledon and practicing these couple of weeks makes you progress” on grass, and noted that while she at one point considered a training block on it during the offseason, her coach put a stop to that.
During the victory against Paolini for the championship at Roland Garros, Swiatek won 5 of 11 points when she went to the net.
“You saw my one volley today that I was supposed get in — and it went out,” Swiatek said. “So this will, for sure, stay in my head.”
That focus on what went wrong in order to make things go right in the future is simply part of who she is, with or without a racket in her hand.
“When I do anything, I want to do it 100%. I think when you’re a perfectionist, you are a perfectionist everywhere ... and sometimes not being able to let it go,” Swiatek explained. “I’m working on it, and this is a tricky thing, because, for sure, it helps you to be better, but sometimes it can be huge baggage, as well. So it’s good to manage it properly.”
When a reporter followed up by asking for an example or two of ways in which Swiatek finds herself wanting to be perfect away from tennis, she smiled and replied: “We're not (in) therapy, so, sorry.”
Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Poland's Iga Swiatek plays a volley on the practice court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on July 1st, in London, Friday June 28, 2024. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)
Poland's Iga Swiatek plays a volley on the practice court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, which begins on July 1st, in London, Friday June 28, 2024. (Zac Goodwin/PA via AP)
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — Former President Evo Morales on Sunday accused his political ally-turned-rival President Luis Arce of deceiving Bolivians by staging a “self-coup” last week to earn political points among the electorate, marking a sharp downturn in an already fraught relationship.
Morales was initially among the country's most powerful voices to say the approximately 200 members of the military who marched on Bolivia's government palace alongside armored vehicles Wednesday had attempted a “coup d’état.” He called for "all those involved in this riot to be arrested and tried.”
But on Sunday, Morales joined others who contend Arce himself orchestrated the incident in an attempt to win the sympathy of Bolivians at a time when his popularity is extremely low.
Arce “disrespected the truth, deceived us, lied, not only to the Bolivian people but to the whole world,” Morales said in a local broadcast program Sunday. Morales also called for an independent investigation into the military action in a post on X.
Morales is throwing his support behind an accusation made by former Gen. Juan José Zuñiga, who allegedly led the coup attempt. Morales said Zuñiga had informed colleagues and family of his plan beforehand and while in custody had told authorities that Arce had “betrayed” him.
“The president told me: ‘The situation is very screwed up, very critical. It is necessary to prepare something to raise my popularity’,” Zúñiga quoted Arce as saying.
That theory was quickly adopted by Arce’s political enemies, who dubbed it a “self-coup.”
“At some point the truth will be known,” a handcuffed Zúñiga told reporters while being transferred to prison Saturday.
Morales' comments were echoed later in the night by neighboring Argentina. The government of right-wing Argentine President Javier Milei declared the coup attempt “fraudulent," citing intelligence reports and saying the way in which Wednesday progressed was “not very credible.”
Arce's government responded on Monday, saying it “strongly rejects the unfriendly and reckless comments.”
It's a major turnaround since Wednesday, when leaders across the region lined up in solidarity with Arce.
Presidential Minister María Nela Prada fired back at Morales over state television Sunday, warning him to not “become a puppet, a marionette and an instrument of imperialism that intends to plunder our country." She said the "fascist right" wanted to “distort history."
“What I condemn even more is that from people like Evo Morales, who claim to be leftists, there is ideological fluctuation around what are coups d’état and failed coups d’état in our country," she said.
Morales still wields a great deal of influence in Bolivia, especially among coca growers and unions, while Arce has faced simmering discontent as the country reels from an economic crisis.
Morales, once Arce's friend, resigned as president in 2019 amid unrest after he ran for an unconstitutional third term and fled into exile, an incident he insists was a coup.
The incident led to conservative Jeanine Áñez to briefly take over as interim president, a period plagued with controversy. Áñez is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence on accusations she illegally took over the presidency after Morales resigned.
In Bolivia's 2020 election, Morales threw his support behind Arce to be the candidate for his Movement for Socialism, known by its Spanish acronym MAS.
But their relationship soured when Morales returned from self-exile and later announced he planned to run against Arce to be MAS's candidate in the 2025 elections. Their fights have grown increasingly bitter as Morales' allies have blocked much of Arce's legislative agenda in Congress.
“We've been politically attacked,” Arce told The Associated Press in an interview Friday. But “we haven't attacked” back.
The feud has angered many Bolivians, and Morales’ comments Sunday were not likely to help.
Morales said on the local radio program “Kausachun Coca” that he felt the incident damaged the image of Bolivia and its military. He also apologized for expressing solidarity with Arce.
A sign displays currency exchange rates in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, June 28, 2024, days after Army troops stormed the government palace in what President Luis Arce called a coup attempt. (AP Photo/Carlos Sanchez)
A man holds dollars at a currency exchange shop in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, June 28, 2024, days after Army troops stormed the government palace in what President Luis Arce called a coup attempt. (AP Photo/Carlos Sanchez)
A woman holds a girl's hand in a market in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, June 28, 2024, days after Army troops stormed the government palace in what President Luis Arce called a coup attempt. (AP Photo/Carlos Sanchez)
FILE - Evo Morales, former president and current president of the MAS party, gives a press conference in La Paz, Bolivia, April 11, 2024. Morales on Sunday, June 30, 2024 accused his political ally-turned-rival President Luis Arce of deceiving the Bolivian people by staging a “self-coup” the week prior. (AP Photo/Juan Karita, File)
Bolivia's President Luis Arce speaks after an interview at the government palace, in La Paz, Bolivia, Friday, June 28, 2024, two days after Army troops stormed the palace in what Arce called a coup attempt. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
