“Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” is the popular rephrasing of Shakespeare’s POV on the burdens imposed by life at the top.
On Wednesday night at the 2024 US Open, it was No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek who was carrying a heavy load as she walked into Arthur Ashe Stadium for her quarterfinal contest against No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula.
There was the pressure that every top seed must manage. There was the more rarified pressure of doing so as a long-running world No. 1. And finally, there is the puzzle that is the US Open. Swiatek has solved it just once, when she took the title in 2022. Her four other Grand Slam trophies were earned in Paris on clay, her preferred surface.
By the end of the night, the building bubble had burst: Swiatek put on a sub-par performance during the mostly one-sided match against Pegula, which the American won quickly and handily, 6-2, 6-4.
Was her favored-player status a factor in Swiatek’s loss? Maybe, but the stats suggest Swiatek should be accustomed to facing opponents she’s “supposed to beat.” This is her 11th Grand Slam tournament appearance as No. 1 in the world, although Pegula has four wins against her—and is just one of four WTA players to boast that stat.
Was it the highly partisan crowd roaring their support for the “Buffalo gal” (Pegula is Buffalo, N.Y. born and bred), who’s so comfortable in the Big Apple that she likes to take public transportation to Flushing Meadows?
Maybe not. While having 20,000-plus people rooting for your opponent isn’t likely to be morale-boosting, neither was the level Swiatek showed on the Open's main show court, she said.
“It’s just math,” Swiatek said about the loss, pointing to the 41 errors she committed. “You’re not going to win if you make so many mistakes.”
True, but there’s something about New York that has posed problems for this particular Polish player.
“[It] was the Grand Slam that I was least chilled at,” said the now 23-year-old Swiatek about her 2022 title run here. “Even though I won, I didn’t feel comfortable on the court at all. I didn’t feel like I could play my game naturally.”
And coming into New York this year, after a season she characterized as “intense” (and not in a good way), Swiatek said she had “lower” expectations for herself. In her post-match press conference, a subdued Swiatek said, simply, that she doesn’t play well with high expectations.
And, in any case, her goals this tournament were entirely her own.
“Everyone’s always speaking about results,” said the mature-beyond-her-years champion about the questions she tends to be asked. But “these are not my goals,” she explained. “I’m more expecting that I’m going to work,” and solve problems.
Last year, Swiatek was upset in the Round of 16 by Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, the No. 20 seed, a result that saw Swiatek surrendering her world No. 1 ranking to Aryna Sabalenka.
This year, firmly back in the top spot, she advanced one round further. But, fair to say, this former champion is leaving the US Open still not quite having entirely figured it out.
