LONDON, ENGLAND \u2013 Katie Swan admitted she is \u2018proud\u2019 of her progress after her Wimbledon exit to Madison Keys.<\/p>\n
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It was an incredible moment for Katie Swan <\/a>as the Brit took to a packed No.1 Court to take on Madison Keys <\/a>in a blockbuster second round match.<\/p>\n Part of the crowd was actually the Princess of Wales Kate Middleton as well as Andy Murray<\/a>. <\/p>\n The Brit had no knowledge of this but was honoured to get to play tennis in front of royalty.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I didn\u2019t. I heard after that she was there. It\u2019s probably a good thing I didn\u2019t know, otherwise I might have been a bit more nervous. It\u2019s incredible to know that she was watching me play,\u201d Swan happily said in her press conference.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cYeah, that also feels very surreal. She\u2019s 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\u2019s amazing to know that she was there.\u201d<\/p>\n A special day for Swan who was relishing the opportunity of being one of the best courts in the world.<\/p>\n After a one-sided first set, Swan raised her level in the second set and pushed Keys to her very limits.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n After the match Swan did admit she was disappointed not to push the match to a third and deciding set.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, I\u2019m disappointed that I couldn\u2019t sneak it into a third set,\u201d Swan confessed.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cBut, you know, for how big the occasion was for me, and I don\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Elaborating on playing on No.1 Court, Swan admitted it has been an incredible experience to play on a big court.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, it was incredible. I didn\u2019t 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,\u201d Swan stated.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cAnd 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\u2019t 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\u2019t go my way in the end.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, I hit on Court 1 a few years ago with Venus before the tournament started, and even just practicing on there, it\u2019s, like, Wow, if this was a full stadium, I don\u2019t 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI guess it\u2019s 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\u2019s an amazing feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n The Brit reflected on her journey to Wimbledon and has lots of positives to take from the event.<\/p>\n \u201cI have loved my time here this week. It\u2019s quite surreal to think I was playing on Court 1 today, and 14 months ago I was playing a 15K in Sharm El Sheikh,\u201d Swan put things into perspective.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cI have come quite a long way. It\u2019s been gradual and steady. That\u2019s 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\u2019d love to be in Wimbledon on my on rank and go also giving myself a shot at the other slams as well.<\/p>\n \u201cThis has been really positive for me, this Wimbledon, and the grass overall. I\u2019ve had a few wins against girls who are here in the main draw. I\u2019m 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\u2019t want to take anything for granted.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not a given that I\u2019ll 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.\u201d<\/p>\n In her spare time Swan has also been taking up a bit of coaching as she looks to give back to others.<\/p>\n The British wildcard concluded her press conference by giving a bit of feedback to herself.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I have to give myself a bit of time to process kind of everything that\u2019s 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,\u201d Swan explained.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 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\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Choinski targets US Open main draw after \u2018positive\u2019 Wimbledon display<\/p>\n It\u2019s time to move onto Jan Choinski <\/a>who produced a very good performance as he took a set off 17th seed Frances Tiafoe<\/a>. <\/p>\n The Brit took the opening set and pushed the Halle champion to his limits in the third set but eventually lost in four sets.<\/p>\n After the match Choinski said it was a \u2018fun experience\u2019 and detailed what he can learn from the experience.<\/p>\n \u201cFor sure it was a fun experience. Yeah, I felt like the crowd was great. It was a fun game. I enjoyed myself out there,\u201d Choinski explained in his press conference.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cI mean, I feel like I can play close matches against anyone, to be honest. So that\u2019s something. I mean, I felt like I knew before because I\u2019m 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI think I had break points, as well, to go a break up, which I couldn\u2019t convert. You never know what would happen.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the defeat it has been a great last six months for Choinski which was defined by him playing Wimbledon through his ranking.<\/p>\n The Brit elaborated on the positives ahead of a big second half of the season for him.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, 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\u2019ve been playing great tennis day in, day out, and had some really successful tournaments,\u201d Choinski acknowledged.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I just hope I can build on this and play a great summer.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, that\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u201cFirst of all, financially it makes a big difference. Then also, you know, depends who you get in the draw, you\u2019ve got chances. It\u2019s not like because you\u2019re 100 you can\u2019t go deep in the slam, for example. It\u2019s not the case. Depending on the draw, I feel like it\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Fearnley rues missed opportunities after Wimbledon exit<\/p>\n Finally let\u2019s hear from Jacob Fearnley <\/a>as he exited Wimbledon with a straight sets defeat to Jaume Munar <\/a>on Court 12.<\/p>\n\n
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