Iga Swiatek was delivered a harsh reality check by coach Francisco Roig during her Wimbledon third round match against Alexandra Eala. Swiatek, the defending champion at SW19, was playing catch-up against her Filipina opponent on Centre Court during a tough first set when Roig felt the need to make his feelings known.
"She's not beating you, you're losing," Roig told the 25-year-old. Eala was 5-3 up at the time and serving for the first set. Swiatek was able to respond, breaking and then taking the first set to a tie-break. However her frustrations continued to show and she was seen throwing her racket in anger en route to losing the set 7-6.
Eala's Dominance
Eala then opened up a 4-0 lead in the second set to take control. Swiatek managed to claw her way back to 4-2 but couldn't get any closer, with the No.29 seed rounding out a 7-6, 6-2 victory.
BBC commentator Anne Keothavong said after the racket-throwing incident: "Really has been patchy throughout this set from Iga Swiatek." Fellow broadcaster Jo Durie appeared surprised by the performance: "I mean to see three unforced errors in a row like that is quite shocking really from Swiatek as you know she makes so many balls usually. She's aggressive and gets up the court but she has that margin for error. And those three will not have made her feel very good."
Expert Analysis
Pam Shriver, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's coverage of the match, spoke about Roig's interactions with Swiatek. "Iga Swiatek's forehand is not prime-time right now. She has been taking a couple of shadow swings between points," she said. "Francisco Roig did try to give her some messages at the end of that game. He is having to really yell from the coaching box because it is quite far back on Centre Court."
Shriver added: "One message you can give your player repeatedly is: 'Keep competing' because you just never know in this sport."
