IGA Swiatek was left searching for answers after a third-round loss to Alex Eala at Wimbledon, frustrated not only by another loss to the beloved Filipina underdog as she was with the current state of her game.
The 7-6(9), 6-2 defeat to the world No. 29 - her second in their three career meetings - is without doubt the low point to a season that has seen Swiatek fail to win a single title or even reach the final and make no impact in the Grand Slams.
READ Alex Eala vows no let-up after emotional win: 'It doesn't mean I'm satisfied'
That is of course tough to swallow for a former world No. 1 and the defending Wimbledon champion, who admitted that she is trying to rebuild her game by returning to the basics after a long run of poor form that sees her season record fall to 23-12.
"Honestly, I don't care anymore about the results," she said in the post-match press conference. "I've been so focused on them that it's hard to continue like that. So I'm really trying to, like, let it go.
"I don't have good results, so I'm not going to expect for myself good results because they're just not happening. I'm not on that level yet. I need to work from the beginning and try to just get my tennis better," the Pole added.
Against Eala, the 29-year old six-time Grand Slam champion made 44 unforced errors - half from her forehand side, wasted two set points in the first set, and strangely made most of her miscues against the Filipina's serve.
From all those things, what ate Swiatek up was her poor handling of Eala's second serve, which BBC commentators bared had an average speed of 74 miles per hour - well below the WTA Tour average of 86mph.
Whether Eala did that on purpose was beside the point; Swiatek just couldn't handle it.
“I think it was tougher mentally for me to accept these missed returns from the slow serves,” said Swiatek, who is expected to tumble out of the Top 5 post-Wimbledon. “I got to say it’s much tougher to return a serve like that than a normal serve.
“I know it was slow. I know exactly how it’s going to come to me. It’s such a different rhythm than what I usually have a chance to return."
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