Iga Swiatek is not an automatic favorite to win Australian Open 2023, says her father, highlights World No. 1's biggest competitors

His daughter Iga Swiatek may be the World No. 1 who enters the upcoming 2023 Australian Open on the back of a highly dominant 2022 season, but Tomasz Swiatek does not believe that she is a heavy favorite to win the first Grand Slam of the new season. Swiatek Sr. feels that the likes of Jessica Pegula, Caroline Garcia, Maria Sakkari, and Aryna Sabalenka, among others, will all "want to beat" the Pole, giving her a tough fight in Melbourne.

Iga Swiatek holds a lead of almost 6000 points at the top of the WTA Rankings, which is just one of the many signs of her prolific form over the last 12 months. A winner of two Grand Slam titles in 2022, including her first on hardcourts (US Open), Swiatek is the overwhelming favorite to win her first Australian Open title in just over two weeks from now, according to most fans and experts alike.

However, Tomasz Swiatek feels that her run of form and her spot in the rankings does not make her the favorite to win the tournament, opining that it takes more than being the top-ranked player to win a Grand Slam. He feels the media has "exaggerated" his daughter's role as the World No. 1.

"I would rather say that she enters the tournament as the number 1 tennis player. And that does not immediately mean that she is the favorite," Tomasz Swiatek said in a recent interview with Polish publication Interia Sport.

"She is a bit exaggerated in this role and the media does it. I understand why, but I wouldn't be so categorical. To win a grand slam, it's not enough to be the best in the world, there are many factors and details that you can't influence."

Highlighting the biggest challengers to Iga Swiatek's bid to win the 2023 Australian Open, including Sabalenka and Pegula, both of whom have beaten her in her last two tournaments respectively, the Polish superstar's father feels that every player who comes up against her in Melbourne will be extra motivated to beat the three-time Grand Slam champion.

"There are some very difficult and ambitious opponents: Pegula, Caroline Garcia. Maria Sakkari will have something to say, Aryna Sabalenka threatened after the Masters. Every girl starting to compete with Iga will want to beat number 1," Swiatek stated.

"Such a match will be one of the most important for them at this tournament. This is the specificity of the situation when she plays with number 1. Everyone wants to beat the number one."

Iga Swiatek will not give Australian Open more importance than other Grand Slams, says her father Tomasz

Iga Swiatek during a training session ahead of the 2023 Australian Open.

The Australian Open is one of the biggest tournaments on the WTA Tour that Iga Swiatek is yet to conquer. However, her father Tomasz Swiatek declared that his daughter will not treat the 2023 Australian Open as a "special tournament" and will treat it as equally important to the other three Grand Slams.

Further reflecting on the 21-year-old's chances of winning the tournament, he feels Swiatek will favor playing in the hot and humid conditions in Melbourne.

"I've never been to Australia with Iga. However, I can guess that the conditions there are completely different due to the frequent heat. Iga, however, likes to be there and play," Tomasz Swiatek said.

"In tennis, it's always easier to compete in the heat. To sum up, this is not a special tournament, and Iga does not attach more importance to it than to other Grand Slams."

Iga Swiatek, who reached the semifinals of the 2022 edition, will begin her first-ever Australian Open as the top seed in a tricky match-up against Germany's Jule Niemeier on Monday.