French Open Day 14: Swiatek powers past Paolini to win third straight French Open title
At match point down in the second round against Naomi Osaka after a bruising three hours of tennis, it looked like it had all come crashing down for Iga Swiatek.
A tight few points at 5-3 from Japan’s four-time major winner opened a crack in the door that Swiatek darted through.
The top seed was seen crying once the match had finished – the mental toll, the exhaustion was etched all over her face – it was a moment.
From then on there’s been no such hint of a wobble. After saving match point against Osaka, Swiatek won 64 of 81 games on her way to the title
The brutal, ruthless ball-striking that’s become commonplace at Roland Garros saw the top seed destroy Anastasia Potapova 6-0 6-0 in just 40 minutes.
A bruising display against Wimbledon Champion Marketa Vondrousova was nearly as quick, with the world number one giving away just two games.
American Coco Gauff, who’s only beaten Swiatek once in 12 meetings was also out-hit, out-ran, out-played. There were glimpses of a fightback throughout but they were calmly and sternly stamped out.
Italian Jasmine Paolini was left to disrupt the Swiatek procession to a fourth French Open in five years. There to dash the hopes of the Pole becoming the first player since Justine Henin in 2007 to win three consecutive titles.
Swiatek continued her dominance with a resounding 6-2 6-1 win against first-time major finalist Paolini in just 68 minutes.
The top seed trailed by an early break but instantly hit back in the following game, going on to win 11 of the next 12 games to see her to the finish line.
Congratulating Swiatek in her runners-up speech, Paolini said: “To play you here is the toughest challenge in this sport.
“It’s been an intense 15 days, and today was tough, but I’m really proud of myself.”
It caps off a tremendous few months for Paolini who will move up to seventh in the WTA rankings on Monday.
She also still has a final to play, as her and compatriot Sara Errani face Coco Gauff and Katerina Siniakova in the Women’s Doubles Final on Sunday morning.
Swiatek becomes the youngest player in the Open era to win four titles at Roland Garros.
After a major test and immense amount of resolve against Naomi Osaka, Swiatek said: “I’m a perfectionist, so there is always pressure.
“But I think I’m fine with handling my own pressure. It’s when the pressure from the outside hits me, then it’s a little bit worse.
“I managed it really well at this tournament.”
Coming into Roland Garros, the question wasn’t who might win, it was who might be able to stop Swiatek. Ultimately, nobody managed it.
She arrived in superb form, having already won WTA titles in Madrid and Rome.
Chris Evert sits on seven French Open titles but even she expects that record to be broken, and probably broken soon.
“I think Iga will end up on double digits. I don’t just think she will [just] beat my record here – I think it’s double digits,” she said on Eurosport.
Miraculously and despite Swiatek not losing at Roland Garros since 2021, this feels like only the start of her story in Paris.
