Iga Swiatek explains who she was texting on court immediately after US Open win

Iga Swiatek stormed into the US Open quarter-finals with a 61-minute victory over Ekaterina Alexandrova - and then went straight on her phone. The world No. 2 sealed a 6-3 6-1 victory, and then had some business to attend to while walking up for her on-court interview.

Swiatek was busy texting someone before addressing the fans on the Louis Armstrong Stadium, and she explained exactly why she needed to get her cell out.

"Iga, we are about to talk about this match you played, but first, do you have any interest in telling us who that text message was going to?" the former champion was asked.

Laughing, she replied: "Oh, just my coach! Yeah, I asked him to book, like, 10 minutes of a practice court if it's possible."

It was surprising to hear that Swiatek was so keen to get back on the practice court. She fired down 21 winners to 13 unforced errors and won the point every time she came forward to the net.

The recent Wimbledon champion even sounded pleased with her performance. "I would say [I was happy with] the intensity and the focus because, for sure, at the beginning I felt like, I don't know, like she played really fast and also the court is a bit different, so I wanted to find my rhythm," Swiatek explained.

"But later on, I really went in my bubble and in the zone and sometimes I was making, like, risky decisions and I think I forced the ball to go in, so I'm just happy with the quality and with my serve as well."

Swiatek has earned herself a reputation as a dominant force on the clay. At just 24, she's already won the French Open four times. But she also lifted the US Open trophy in 2022 and figured out how to play on grass this year, being crowned the Wimbledon champion.

Now, she's not sure which is her favourite surface. "Well, now I like all of them! Which is weird," she smiled.

"But for sure, the clay court season has always been my favourite but people make it really hard for me, you know, with all the pressure around.

"So I think sometimes it's just easier to enjoy the surfaces where it's harder to play but you have more kind of freedom to just make mistakes and accept them.

"It depends, I would say every month is different and I can play on every surface if I feel good with my game and in my head I feel confident. I'll just try to play good throughout the whole year!"

The No. 2 seed will hope to keep feeling good about her game as she progresses in New York. Swiatek will now face either Amanda Anisimova or Beatriz Haddad Maia for a spot in the semis.

If she meets Anisimova, it will be a rematch of their Wimbledon final, which Swiatek won 6-0 6-0.

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