Iga Swiatek acknowledges she prefers to play early even in challenging conditions, but suggests that certain adjustments could be done, like giving players "more time to breathe" when the conditions are extremely hot and humid.
As you probably know, one of the main storylines of this year's Cincinnati Open has been the brutal conditions. Over the past 12 days, multiple players needed medical assistance over feeling unwell. In the men's tournament, Arthur Rinderknech even fainted on the court and retired his third-round match against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
When it comes to Swiatek, she had to take to the court only three times en route to making the semifinal - she had a first-round bye and Marta Kostyuk gave her a walkover in the third round. And so far, the Polish tennis star has managed the conditions well, not dropping a single set en route to setting up a Cincinnati semifinal showdown versus Elena Rybakina.
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Swiatek: Maybe we should be given a bit more to breathe...
"But for sure, I mean this kind of heat is like something that we just need to survive, and it's not like we can't. I think, maybe giving like five more seconds to use the towel or have more time to breathe because it's a bit harder, that would be nice. But besides that I think we can handle it," the world No. 3 said.
"It's nice that we have the ice towels on a bench and the AC kind of next to us. So this is for sure helpful. Without it, I think it would be much worse. But the only thing, maybe like two more seconds to use the towel, but you know, I'll always be the player to ask for that."
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Swiatek's Cincinnati semifinal match against Rybakina is scheduled for 1 PM local time. On Sunday, some rain is expected to fall in Cincinnati so the conditions may be a bit fresher.
