It was mistaken identity for Iga Swiatek in a moment that harked back to the infamous Novak Djokovic Wimbledon incident as she berated the crowd for supposedly booing Casper Ruud only to realise instead they were shouting Ruud's name.
Swiatek played on December 30 as she thumped Helgo 6-0, 6-1 to give Poland their first point. She then watched as Ruud set up deciding doubles as he saw off Hubert Hurkacz to keep Norway alive. She was paired up with Jan Zielinski instead of Hurkacz in doubles and they won against Ruud and Ulrikke Eikeri to secure the win for Poland.
Poland won the opening set easily then came the second where Ruud and Eikeri came back firing before the final tiebreak which was edged by Swiatek and Zielinski. She heaped praise on Ruud afterwards.
"I said it is fun to play against his forehand because I always loved his forehand, you know. Yeah, I just said that," Iga Swiatek said.
During the post match interview she also berated the corwd for supposedly shouting boo instead of Ruud before she realised. "OK if you were saying (Casper) Ruud, then I’m sorry."
"Well, I saw on internet last year that someone else was confused, I think with (Holger) Rune? They (the crowd) were saying ‘Rune’ ...OK, then it’s my fault," she added.
Dokic though put Swiatek at ease as to her fears. "It’s okay. We are all united. It’s all good."
Swiatek also chimed in with her love of playing team events. "Well, honestly Polish people are always amazing. I don't take it for granted, but I get used to Polish people being there on the stadium to support us. I think it was kind of even in terms of the support, and this is what makes our game I think the most interesting when also the crowd is kind of involved."
"I already played some matches that were even better because of that, so for sure the atmosphere helped us. It's always exciting, you know. Honestly this is why I love playing team events and especially United Cup because we have different atmosphere, and I really enjoy that."
Swiatek thought that the crowd was booing team Norway. They are just screaming "Ruuuuuud".
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) December 30, 2024
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