- The world number 2 defeated Rebecca Sramkova on Thursday
- He got into trouble in his post-match interview.
Iga Swiatek put a stain on her great run at this year's Australian Open when she put the crowd offside after her victory on Thursday by claiming that Sydney has better coffee than Melbourne.
The Victorian capital prides itself on the quality of its beers and its supposed coffee superiority over Sydney is often raised in the long-running rivalry between the two cities.
Swiatek was speaking to Channel Nine's Jelena Dokic after her straight sets victory over Rebecca Sramkova when the topic turned to good cups of java.
'I know you are a big coffee lover and drinker. What is Iga Swiatek's coffee order and how does Melbourne coffee compare to the rest of the world? Be careful what you say here,' Dokic asked.
“I must say I found better coffee shops in Sydney,” Swiatek responded, prompting a loud chorus of boos from the crowd.
The four-time French Open champion then tried to get fans back inside.
Iga Swiatek backtracked after giving an honest opinion about the quality of Melbourne's coffee compared to Sydney's in a post-match interview with Jelena Dokic (pictured).
Melburnians are known for boasting that their cafes (pictured) have a leg up on what's on offer in Harbor City.
“But no, no, no, guys, the thing is, it's not easy for me to fall asleep either, so during a Grand Slam I'm like, you know, my coffee level needs to be a little bit lower, so just drinking it before the game, so I didn't do my research properly,” he explained.
“Sorry for my response…in general in Australia I think it's hard to get the wrong coffee…all the coffee shops have really great quality, and my order will always be white with oat milk.”
Dokic responded: “There you saved a match point.”
Melburnians were also up in arms when a survey found the Harbor City is the coffee capital of Australia, with Sydneysiders drinking more cups of beer per week than their Victorian counterparts.
Swiatek's victory means she will face former US Open champion Emma Raducanu in a third-round main clash at the Australian Open.
The Pole showed no mercy as she overcame Sramkova on the Rod Laver Arena, winning 6-0, 6-2.
Sramkova won just 10 points in a lopsided first set, a tally she was able to match in the first four games of the second as she struggled to make it more competitive.
Dokic joked that Swiatek (pictured during her victory over Rebecca Sramkova on Thursday) saved a match point when she tried to calm the crowd.
But the second-seeded Pole was eager to get the job done as quickly as possible on Rod Laver Arena, closing out the contest in just 60 minutes on her first match point.
“Today I felt very solid, it was an efficient match,” said Swiatek, 23, whose best performance at the Open was reaching the semifinals in 2022.
'I'm happy I kept my concentration.
“Sometimes when it seems a little easy, that can cause problems later because you may have lost focus.”
Raducanu, 22, had to work much harder in her second round match against close friend Amanda Anisimova before advancing 6-3 7-5.
“It's incredibly difficult when you play against a friend, it adds another dimension to the match and not necessarily enjoyable,” said Raducanu, who made tennis history at the 2021 US Open when she became the first player, male or female, to win. a major as a qualifier.