MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) 鈥 Awaiting a new topic during a pre-Australian Open news conference, Caroline Garcia 鈥 someone skilled and smart enough to reach the U.S. Open semifinals and win the season-ending WTA Finals in 2022 鈥 was worried the next query could involve naming possible opponents.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to know the draw!鈥 Garcia blurted out, raising her left hand as if to literally deflect the subject. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know my draw!鈥
She is hardly the only athlete making that claim at during the yearsa国际传媒 first Grand Slam tournament, where the second round begins Wednesday. Actually, it is a rather common refrain among tennis players as they move from stop to stop on the tour, even ones as successful as No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek.
They insist it is important to remain blissfully unaware of any potential path to a title and offer various reasons, ranging from superstition to an insistence on 鈥 yes, you probably guessed it 鈥 that old clich茅 about 鈥減laying one match at a time.鈥
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really see the draw,鈥 three-time major champion Swiatek said last weekend, before play began. 鈥淚 only know who I'm playing (in the) first round.鈥
They haven鈥檛 glanced at the bracket, they say.
They won鈥檛, they say.
And they absolutely, positively, do not want anyone else 鈥 a coach, an agent, a physical therapist, a hitting partner, a friend or (heaven forbid!) a journalist 鈥 sneaking a peek and revealing what the draw sheet might hold in store.
It can't be easy to avoid knowing more than that, given all of the attention on the tournament and the giant bracket posted on the side of Rod Laver Arena, where Swiatek won her first-round match Monday night.
As No. 5-seeded Aryna Sabalenka pointed out, social media makes keeping blinders on tough, too. Talk of a player's path to a championship is constant.
鈥淪omeone is going to post a prediction (of) who I'm going to play, so, anyway, I would see that,鈥 said Sabalenka, who takes on Shelby Rogers of the U.S. on Thursday. 鈥淚鈥檓 not opening the draw and trying to see, 鈥極K, I鈥檓 going to face that, that, that.鈥 No, no, no, I鈥檓 not doing that. I鈥檓 just trying to take it one step at a time.鈥
There are 128 entrants in the womensa国际传媒 singles event at each of the four Grand Slam tournaments and another 128 in the mensa国际传媒 singles. It takes getting past seven rounds to earn the trophy.
So it seems as if it might be the sensible 鈥 even advisable 鈥 approach to be fully aware of what, of who, could lie ahead.
Which is why some, such as , the 24-year-old American seeded 16th, thinks itsa国际传媒 nonsense for players to say they are not aware of whatsa国际传媒 out there.
鈥淓veryone who says they don鈥檛 (know), they鈥檙e lying, man,鈥 said Tiafoe, a semifinalist at last yearsa国际传媒 U.S. Open. 鈥淵ou know whosa国际传媒 around. You know what the potential matchups look like. But you can鈥檛 make those potential matchups unless you take care of the food thatsa国际传媒 in front of you.鈥
No. 6 seed Felix-Auger Aliassime, for one, acknowledged as much.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 refuse to look; I look a little bit further down the draw,鈥 Auger-Aliassime said. 鈥淏ut it still doesn鈥檛 change that I鈥檓 totally focused and locked in on the first match I have to play. I鈥檝e had great moments in Grand Slams, but also some very tough moments 鈥 losing earlier, like first or second round 鈥 so I鈥檓 always aware that you never can take anything for granted.鈥
Swiatek says she used to check out the draw but now she doesn't.
Same for Alexei Popyrin, an Australian who is 113th in the ATP rankings.
鈥淚 used to look ahead. I used to look at every kind of step of the draw when the draw came out. I鈥檝e kind of stopped that. I鈥檓 trying to take it one match at a time. Just focus on the match ahead, not look forward to the second or third round or fourth round,鈥 Popyrin said. 鈥淚tsa国际传媒 not the best to look ahead when you haven鈥檛 even done the first step. For me, that was a learning process.鈥
Don't look now, but Popyrin could meet No. 8 seed Taylor Fritz of the U.S. in the second round if both won their opening matches.
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