The Citizen (KZN)

Stones fan Swiatek mum on her music

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– Iga Swiatek (right) refused to reveal the song she was listening to on her headphones at the Australian Open yesterday, fearing it might become “the anthem of the tournament”.

The Polish world No 1 battled back from 4-1 down in the third set to beat former finalist Danielle Collins 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

Swiatek said she was grooving to a Rolling Stones song when she came onto Rod Laver Arena on day five of the tournament in Melbourne.

“I feel like when I’m really well-focused I am kind of repeating the same song throughout the whole match,” she said.

“It gives me energy and I can kind of narrow my focus just to that song that I keep hearing and the technical stuff that I want to think about.

“I don’t like when my brain is kind of picking up the songs from the changeover­s because every time is a different one. I want to keep, yeah, hearing The Rolling Stones.”

But the four-time Grand Slam champion was coy when asked which exact song she had chosen, fearing there was a danger it could be over-played.

“I don’t want to say because I already said couple of times – it became like the anthem of the tournament or whatever,” she said.

“It ruined it a little bit for me. I don’t want to say.

“I had on my first Roland Garros that I won, ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ (by Guns N’ Roses). I couldn’t even hear it ever again because of all this fuss that this song made.”

Swiatek has had a tough draw in Melbourne – beating former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the first round before her second-round meeting with 2022 finalist Collins.

“I think it was even like the toughest one I ever had, maybe even more than when I was unseeded a couple of years back.

I’m proud to survive this,” she added. –

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