By Tony Fairbairn, Britwatch Sports at Wimbledon
- Katie Swan admitted she is ‘proud’ of her progress after her second round exit at Wimbledon
- Meanwhile, Jan Choinski is targeting a place in the US Open main draw
LONDON, ENGLAND – Katie Swan admitted she is ‘proud’ of her progress after her Wimbledon exit to Madison Keys.
It was an incredible moment for Katie Swan as the Brit took to a packed No.1 Court to take on Madison Keys in a blockbuster second round match.
Part of the crowd was actually the Princess of Wales Kate Middleton as well as Andy Murray.
The Brit had no knowledge of this but was honoured to get to play tennis in front of royalty.
“No, I didn’t. I heard after that she was there. It’s probably a good thing I didn’t know, otherwise I might have been a bit more nervous. It’s incredible to know that she was watching me play,” Swan happily said in her press conference.
“Yeah, that also feels very surreal. She’s such an inspiring person. I would love to meet her if possible one day, but to know that she even knows who I am is pretty cool. I wish I could have had a better result with her supporting me, but, I mean, it’s amazing to know that she was there.”
A special day for Swan who was relishing the opportunity of being one of the best courts in the world.
After a one-sided first set, Swan raised her level in the second set and pushed Keys to her very limits.
The Brit was enjoying her tennis and was frustrating the American but it was Keys that ultimately prevailed in a 6-1 6-4 win.
After the match Swan did admit she was disappointed not to push the match to a third and deciding set.
“Yeah, I’m disappointed that I couldn’t sneak it into a third set,” Swan confessed.
“But, you know, for how big the occasion was for me, and I don’t have any experience on a court like that. We played on quite a big court in Sydney last time we played each other. But yeah, I think I can take a lot from this experience and hopefully next time I play on a court like that, having had this match, I can go into that with a bit more confidence and knowing that I can compete with these top girls.”
Elaborating on playing on No.1 Court, Swan admitted it has been an incredible experience to play on a big court.
“Yeah, it was incredible. I didn’t really know how it would feel really to walk out there. I mean, you can kind of sit out there and experience it, but walking onto the court is a whole other thing,” Swan stated.
“And then having to try and perform while my legs felt like they were lead from the nerves. It was amazing. I knew I wanted to try and get the crowd going as early as I could. They were amazing. They really helped me stay positive when the score wasn’t going my way. You know, I was fatiguing quite a lot in that match, but the energy from the crowd was keeping me going. I kept fighting, and unfortunately just didn’t go my way in the end.
“I mean, I hit on Court 1 a few years ago with Venus before the tournament started, and even just practicing on there, it’s, like, Wow, if this was a full stadium, I don’t know how I would feel out here. Walking out there, it was amazing. But I felt so small, like, on that court compared to the amount of people that were around. But I thought I settled quite well into the match, actually, once I started playing.
“I guess it’s just growing up and seeing all the top players that have played on it, on Centre, and getting to be part of that and putting myself in a position where I get to play on Court 1, it’s an amazing feeling.”
It’s been a long road back for Swan who has been playing on the Futures tour and is now going from that to playing on one of the biggest courts in the world.
The Brit reflected on her journey to Wimbledon and has lots of positives to take from the event.
“I have loved my time here this week. It’s quite surreal to think I was playing on Court 1 today, and 14 months ago I was playing a 15K in Sharm El Sheikh,” Swan put things into perspective.
“I have come quite a long way. It’s been gradual and steady. That’s kind of the goal from here, is to keep building my ranking week to week and my spot at these big tournaments. This time next year I’d love to be in Wimbledon on my on rank and go also giving myself a shot at the other slams as well.
“This has been really positive for me, this Wimbledon, and the grass overall. I’ve had a few wins against girls who are here in the main draw. I’m still ranking-wise a fair way off being at that point, but like I said before, if I keep building week to week, I just don’t want to take anything for granted.
“It’s not a given that I’ll get there, but if I keep putting in the work every day, yeah, keep believing in myself, I know that my level is good enough to reach that goal.”
In her spare time Swan has also been taking up a bit of coaching as she looks to give back to others.
The British wildcard concluded her press conference by giving a bit of feedback to herself.
“I think I have to give myself a bit of time to process kind of everything that’s happened this week. I think reflecting on where I was even 14 months ago without ranking, to be playing on Court 1 at Wimbledon is an amazing achievement, which I need to be proud of,” Swan explained.
“In terms of my tennis, there is a lot still to improve, but there is a lot also that I feel I have done really well and showing that my level, I don’t have to try and overplay in these matches, that my base level is good enough to compete with the top girls, and just to keep trusting that and putting in the work physically and to get stronger so I can maintain that level for longer.”
Choinski targets US Open main draw after ‘positive’ Wimbledon display
It’s time to move onto Jan Choinski who produced a very good performance as he took a set off 17th seed Frances Tiafoe.
The Brit took the opening set and pushed the Halle champion to his limits in the third set but eventually lost in four sets.
After the match Choinski said it was a ‘fun experience’ and detailed what he can learn from the experience.
“For sure it was a fun experience. Yeah, I felt like the crowd was great. It was a fun game. I enjoyed myself out there,” Choinski explained in his press conference.
“I mean, I feel like I can play close matches against anyone, to be honest. So that’s something. I mean, I felt like I knew before because I’m starting to play really good tennis. It just shows. Even though two sets of the match were fairly, from the score, kind of easy to him, but I had my chances in the third set.
“I think I had break points, as well, to go a break up, which I couldn’t convert. You never know what would happen.”
Despite the defeat it has been a great last six months for Choinski which was defined by him playing Wimbledon through his ranking.
The Brit elaborated on the positives ahead of a big second half of the season for him.
“Yeah, for sure at the beginning, I would have wished for maybe an even better start into the year. Although over the past couple of weeks or months I think I’ve been playing great tennis day in, day out, and had some really successful tournaments,” Choinski acknowledged.
“So I just hope I can build on this and play a great summer.”
Now, Choinski will be aiming for a big US hard court swing in America and spoke about what it would mean for him to be in the main draw of the US Open as opposed to qualifying.
“I mean, that’s a goal, for sure. Everybody dreams of playing main draw slams, because quallies of slams is tough. I mean, depends who you get in main draws. You could play players maybe the same or better level in quallies, to be honest. The level is very, very close. Also, nearly everyone in quallies can play great tennis. So getting the ranking up there and being able to participate in the main draw of a slam straightaway.
“First of all, financially it makes a big difference. Then also, you know, depends who you get in the draw, you’ve got chances. It’s not like because you’re 100 you can’t go deep in the slam, for example. It’s not the case. Depending on the draw, I feel like it’s even possible to play third, maybe fourth round. It takes a huge step off you having to qualify for a slam, being able to play main draw straightaway.”
Fearnley rues missed opportunities after Wimbledon exit
Finally let’s hear from Jacob Fearnley as he exited Wimbledon with a straight sets defeat to Jaume Munar on Court 12.
After coming back from two sets down to defeat Alex Michelsen in the first round, Fearnley couldn’t maintain that level and went out in the second round.
Despite that epic five set match, Fearnley didn’t think that was the reason why he lost against Munar.
“No, I don’t think so. I mean, I definitely did feel more tired today. I don’t know if it was just — yeah, I mean, maybe I did have a knock-on effect. I’m not too sure,” Fearnley said in his press conference.
“Obviously the way he plays, he does make the rallies a little bit more physical than perhaps Michelsen would have done. Yeah, I think that court was a little bit slower, as well. Obviously crowd involved, playing on a slightly bigger court, all kind of zaps your energy a little bit more. Yeah, maybe there was a couple of factors that played into it.”
Fearnley had many opportunities during the match but wasn’t able to convert them and lost in three tight sets.
The Brit is rueing those missed chances but said there wasn’t much to separate the two players.
“I mean, I think, like, you know, like most of the matches that I’m losing, I don’t think it’s coming down to much. But I think he served better,” Fearnley analysed.
“I think that was pretty evident today, you know, from the stats or whether you were watching. Yeah, I think it’s just how you’re playing the big points. I think he played them way better than me. The way he plays, he just makes a lot of balls, and he’s extremely good at that. So, yeah, I felt like I was the one who was having to press and try and dictate.
“Obviously I made a few big errors in big moments. But, you know, I’m okay with that to a certain extent. You know, I have to go for it. Yeah, and obviously first game in the third set was just a complete concentration lapse, and that obviously costed me big time in that third set.
“Obviously all matches you lose, you look back, especially if they’re close, you look back and you realize that there was some chances that probably missed. Yeah, you know, I thought on a lot of big points he served really well. Hit his spots. You know, I wasn’t, yeah, I wasn’t expecting him to honestly serve that big.
“I think he was consistently hitting over 135 and hitting spots. Yeah, credit to him. But yeah, obviously disappointed that I didn’t capitalize on the opportunities that I had.”
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