Iga Swiatek, 19, dismantles 2019 Roland Garros runner-up Vondrousova

On Monday at Roland Garros, Iga Swiatek closed out a speedy upset of last year's runner-up, Marketa Vondrousova, 6-1, 6-2.

The abrupt end to No. 15-seeded Vondrousova's campaign is a surprise, given that she just reached the semifinals in Rome.

"I think she was so good today, she didn't give me much chances," Vondrousva told press. "So I think she was just better."

"I had control of everything today," Swiatek said of the 63-minute match she insisted was anything but easy. "And I was kind of scared of Marketa's drop shots so I wanted not to give her opportunity to play drops shots. I wanted to hit the ball hard and play really offensive."

Just 19, Swiatek has already experienced the mental grind of tour life. (Getty Images)

The win means a lot more to Swiatek than just a spot in the second round. Though still a relatively new face on tour, the 19-year-old put a lot of pressure on herself when the sport restarted in August. After a foot injury derailed her preseason going into 2020, she had the best "preseason" ever during the tournament-free summer.

Yet that preparation didn't translate into immediate wins.

"It was really hard for me to comeback from this COVID break," the Pole said. "I felt a lot of pressure and I was really stressed when I played in New York, so I just wanted to play my game [today]. I felt that when many players from the top are not going to be there, maybe there's an opportunity for me, so that was kind of stressful for me."

The effects of her heightened stress was a first-round exit at the Western & Southern Open, to Christina McHale, and a third-round loss at the US Open to eventual finalist Victoria Azarenka.

​"When I played my first match on Western & Southern, even though I played exhibitions, it was totally different," Swiatek said. "Usually when I was stressed I had a crowd and I could focus on people and I could, I don't know, play for them, but I really missed that."

Swiatek came to Roland Garros with a new perspective after an uncomfortable few weeks in New York. (Getty Images)

In Rome, Swiatek lost her opener to Aranxta Rus, but by then her mentality had completely changed. With some experience dealing with pressure now under her belt, she focused on feeling good on court, instead of the results.

The positive mental flip was thanks to a mental reset she initiated between New York and Europe. She returned to the basics on the practice court in Warsaw with coach Piotr Sierzputowski, and worked with sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz.

"I think going back to the good state I'm in right now it was a long process," she said. "And it started at the Western & Southern, so I really needed a long time. But that was the first time I had such high expectations in my career so it wasn't easy, and I feel like next time it's going to be better because right now I have more experience."

Five weeks might not seem like a long time, but in this shortened season, it can seem like forever. Still, at No. 54, Swiatek is just six spots shy of her career-best ranking—a high she achieved after her fourth-round run at this year's Australian Open.

The run matched her Grand Slam breakthrough from Paris last year, when she made the fourth round in her debut. The talented teen will next take on Hsieh Su-Wei on Wednesday.

"I always play topspin so I think that's the main reason and I like sliding," she said of her success on clay. "I slide even on hard courts. Basically I was raised on clay and my whole childhood I played on clay, so I feel the most comfortable here."

Having just finished her high-school degree this summer, Swiatek isn't that far removed from childhood. Either way, she's proving to be a quick study on the terre battue.