Iga Swiatek handled the business in the best way possible against Daria Kasatkina, only to later learn that it was basically all for nothing and to deliver a hilarious moment that left reporters bursting into laughter.
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After losing to Coco Gauff on Tuesday, the defending WTA Finals champion needed to beat Jessica Pegula on Thursday and also have the American beat Barbora Krejcikova to reach the semifinal. But then, Pegula withdrew - Kasatkina jumped in as an alternate - and the Pole sealed a dominant 6-1 6-0 win.
Due to the changes in the group that came with those developments, Swiatek didn't anymore need to beat the Russian. She only needed Gauff to beat the Czech.
Um, you mean it didnt matter? What? a stunned 23-year-old asked when asked if she knew the scenarios going into Thursday's programme.
After getting confirmation from reporters that the outcome of her match indeed didn't matter, she asked a simple, "Why?"
As a response, she was told that "complicated tie-breakers" were the reason, to which she remarked, "What?"
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Then she was simply explained that her match wasn't deciding the scenario of the group but the one between Gauff and Krejcikova would determine everything that was left to be determined.
Swiatek underlined that she was a pro
After realizing what had happened, the five-time Grand Slam simply acknowledged that she was a pro and there she would never calculate.
Honestly, I dont think it matters. Like we go out on court to win every match anyway, so I was not thinking about that. I did not know that was the case," Swiatek noted.
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She repeated the same message when asked if it was better than she didn't know the scenario.
You know. Im professional enough to always give 100 percent no matter what the stakes are. So, no," she claimed.
Unfortunately for Swiatek, Gauff lost to Krejcikova in two sets and she didn't make it past the group stage.
