Iga eager to eat after marathon fighting win

Iga Swiatek was looking forward to a lte Roman lunch after squeezing out a Masters 1000 win on Friday which took nearly three hours.

“I’ll definitely be getting some good food,” the three-time Rome winner said after her afternoon finish on the slow Court Centrale of the Foro Italico clay.

“I burned some calories today –  must get them back.”

The major fan of Italy began her event in the Eternal City with a fighting 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 victory over Caty McNally to reach the third round after a bye.

The third seed started off fast but bogged down in an 82-minute second set – at least 20 unforced errors – and was broken while serving for a quick win.

Her 63rd-ranked American opponent levelled the match with a winning tiebreaker.

Swiatek had to work through the deciding setm breaking twice to finally clinch victory.

 “It was a tough match, she was playing great, fighting for every ball,” the Polish winner said. 

“I needed to be patient and finish each rally. She seemed to play slower, so I had to adjust to that.

“I’m happy I was solid at the important moments. I was able to keep it together to win the match.”

Swiatek said that getting accustomed to the courts at the Foro is important.

“I remember many tough matches here – many in the beginning of the tournament.

“You have to stay patient because the (centre) court is super small and the balls can get heavy.  

“That makes it tougher to finish a rally, it’s why there are so many long matches.”