{"id":92182,"date":"2023-08-29T09:35:26","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T09:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/?p=92182"},"modified":"2023-08-29T09:35:26","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T09:35:26","slug":"iga-swiateks-spot-at-top-of-womens-tennis-world-under-threat-at-us-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/tennis\/iga-swiateks-spot-at-top-of-womens-tennis-world-under-threat-at-us-open\/","title":{"rendered":"Iga Swiatek\u2019s spot at top of women\u2019s tennis world under threat at US Open"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Iga Swiatek has carried the torch as world number one with unmatched consistency on the women\u2019s tour for more than a year but the drained defending US Open champion faces a major threat to her position with Aryna Sabalenka poised to pounce.<\/p>\n
Swiatek has had a vice-like grip on top spot since inheriting it after Ash Barty\u2019s retirement in April 2022, but Australian Open champion Sabalenka has steadily chipped away at the deficit and can leapfrog her rival by winning in New York.<\/p>\n
Swiatek has not been beaten before the quarter-finals of a tournament since January but the 22-year-old Pole appeared to be running out of steam ahead of the year\u2019s final Grand Slam.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom my perspective, I would say my tank of fuel is pretty empty,\u201d she said after going out in the semi-finals at Montreal and Cincinnati.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not even going to regret a lot because I\u2019m happy I\u2019m going to have days off.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The French Open champion said she would try not to be hard on herself ahead of her US Open title defence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know from my experience that being a defending champion isn\u2019t easy,\u201d Swiatek said. \u201cI\u2019m going to take it easy on myself and just try to do everything step by step.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite needing to recharge and refocus, Swiatek will still be heavily backed to retain her crown and secure a fifth Grand Slam title overall but Belarusian Sabalenka underlined her own hardcourt credentials with her breakthrough win in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
She followed that up by making the semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon, where she could have taken the number one ranking for the first time.<\/p>\n
Sabalenka also enjoyed success in the US earlier in the year with a run to the Indian Wells final where she crashed to fellow big-hitter Elena Rybakina, another top Flushing Meadows contender despite recent health and fitness worries.<\/p>\n
The trio have won five of the last six Grand Slams, sparking talk of a \u2018Big Three\u2019 era in women\u2019s tennis, but the game has churned out several other threats for the US Open crown in the last few weeks.<\/p>\n
Marketa Vondrousova heads that list after the former Roland Garros runner-up broke her Grand Slam duck at Wimbledon, while Jessica Pegula and fellow American Coco Gauff are primed for deep runs after triumphs in Montreal and Cincinnati.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe in just giving it your all,\u201d said former French Open runner-up Gauff, who beat Swiatek en route to winning her first WTA 1000 title.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s all you can do. I\u2019m going to give it my all in the US Open. If things go great, that\u2019s exciting. If not I go back and work hard and get ready for the next one.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the mentality you have to have.\u201d<\/p>\n
World number three Pegula also raised US hopes of a first home-grown Flushing Meadows champion since Sloane Stephens in 2017 after she beat Swiatek during her run to the Montreal title.<\/p>\n
Ons Jabeur will hope to overcome a foot problem she suffered last week as she continues her quest for a first Grand Slam singles crown. The Tunisian trailblazer lost in the 2022 New York final and has been runner-up at Wimbledon the last two years.<\/p>\n
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Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, twice a beaten finalist at Flushing Meadows, is one of those to be awarded wild cards for the tournament. The Dane returned to competitive tennis earlier this month after more than three years away to start a family.<\/p>\n