Iga Swiatek is a true world star, but of late her form has been unconvincing.
Her clay-court campaign was uncharacteristically underwhelming, and after the incredible high of winning Wimbledon last year, it was always going to be tough to replicate such a level.
Now, we are back on the North American hard courts, where the Polish star has shone before.
In the past few years, there have been a few false dawns in Iga Swiatek’s road to returning to her very best.
However, yesterday’s comeback victory over Marta Kostyuk at the Canadian Open might have just proven that this is the real thing.
Iga Swiatek returns to her best to beat Marta Kostyuk
That being said, at one stage Swiatek was staring down the barrel of another easy exit at the Ukrainian’s hands.
After all, having been knocked out of Roland Garros by Kostyuk, she swiftly found herself down a set in Toronto as well.
Who will win the women’s singles title at the Canadian Open?
In fact, the six-time Grand Slam champion won just one point on her own serve all set. Things were looking bleak.
Of late, we have become sadly accustomed to seeing Swiatek lose with minimal fuss from such a position, especially against a player of her opponent’s level.
So, to see her make some crucial adaptations and rally back, winning the second and third sets with ease, was refreshing.
She dominated one of the WTA Tour’s most in-form players, dropping just three games in two sets.
Swiatek has enjoyed some great wins in the last year or so, but none seem as potentially pivotal as this one.
Why Iga Swiatek could actually be the favourite to win the US Open
With this fresh in the memory, it actually feels like Swiatek could head to the US Open as one of the favourites.
After all, she will certainly be the most decorated player in the draw other than Venus Williams, with her six major titles and 11 WTA 1000 trophies.
Meanwhile, her main hard-court rivals like Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina are faltering, showing no signs that they will cruise through the draw in New York.
What is going wrong for Aryna Sabalenka at the moment? 😬
The fact that Swiatek has already won it before will alleviate even more pressure, and potentially make her an underappreciated but supremely dangerous threat at the US Open.
It would be supremely sweet if she were to win this title, given how some have predicted Swiatek’s struggles to continue.
