French Open 2023: Iga Swiatek asserts her dominance at Roland Garros with third title

Iga Swiatek was pushed to the brink by Qinwen Zheng last year at the French Open. If it weren’t for severe menstrual cramps, the Chinese player could well have thwarted Swiatek’s second title in Paris. A year on, Swiatek was pushed to the limit in the final by Karolina Muchova. All three of her previous major titles (2020, 2022 French Opens and 2022 US Open) had come with straight set wins in the title clash. That changed on Saturday with the Czech player once again displaying her dogged resistance against someone who takes to clay as fish to water. One could make the case that Swiatek has it in her to be as lethal at the French Open as 14-time champion Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard’s jaw-dropping 112-3 win-loss record might be a long shot for Swiatek (or anyone!) but as far as the potential of collecting a bucketload of trophies goes, Swiatek is off to a cracking start.

Hat's off, champ 🤭#RolandGarros | @iga_swiatek pic.twitter.com/Iw49NVgC9K

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 10, 2023

“She’s going to be in for the long haul, and I told her - you’ve won three French Opens, I won seven. You’re only 22, you’re going to go past that. You can go to eight, nine, 10,” 18-time major winner Chris Evert said after presenting the Suzanne Lenglen trophy to the 22-year-old Pole. Evert, speaking on Eurosport, added, “There are players that are really hungry - Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, myself and Martina Navratilova, and I think Iga is the same type of person.” Tournament Director Amelie Mauresmo agreed. “She’s getting this special relationship with Roland Garros over the years. She’s still young, won her first in 2020 and we can imagine that she will lift the trophy many more times here,” said the former World No 1 and two-time major champion. Swiatek, a Nadal fan, tried not to be sucked into the expectations. “I’m not really looking that far. I don’t know what I’m capable of,” she said. “I will work day by day to play the best game possible and to develop as a player. I’m not setting like any crazy records or goals for myself. I know that keeping it cool is the best way to do it for me.”

Iga in front of the Eiffel 😍 🏆 pic.twitter.com/VvxaJAmAL7

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) June 11, 2023

The numbers do solidify the theory though. Saturday’s win meant she became the first woman to win consecutive French Opens since four-time champion Justine Henin completed a hat-trick in 2007. She is just the third woman in the Open Era, after Monica Seles and Naomi Osaka, to win each of her first four Grand Slam finals. [caption id=“attachment_12724032” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Iga Swiatek beat Karolina Muchova to win her third French Open title and second in a row. AP[/caption] Swiatek, a largely unknown entity in 2020, leapt to the limelight in the COVID-19 affected cold of Paris. She would walk out to the court wearing big headphones with the hard rock of Led Zeppelin and Guns N’ Roses blaring into them. Away from the thundering rock music, Swiatek also listens to Taylor Swift and holds a passion for reading while playing tournaments across the world.

🔙✌️🔙@iga_swiatek overcomes Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 to successfully defend her title and earn a third Roland-Garros crown.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/q1OPO4qRJa

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 10, 2023

More from Tennis

How long will Djokovic continue playing? Tennis icon drops big statement: 'US Open sounded bit like a goodbye' 'Where the hell are the rest?': Boris Becker blasts rivals for failing to challenge Alcaraz and Sinner

Off the court, she’s also kept the plight of Ukraine in the spotlight. Similar to Nadal, Swiatek is aware of the influence she can make off the court. Last July, she organised an exhibition for humanitarian causes in neighbouring Ukraine. She’s continued to wear Ukraine flag’s ribbon on her cap since the war began. That event, in Warsaw, raised over $500,000. On the court, Swiatek played her first French Open in 2019 when she was resoundingly beaten by Simona Halep in just 45 minutes in the Round of 16. Things started to fall into place in 2020. A fourth round appearance at the Australian Open, third round at the US Open and then her first title came at the French Open. It elevated her into the top 20 and came at a time when she graduated from high school. There’s been no looking back since.

Rafael Nadal’s message to Iga Swiatek after winning her third French Open pic.twitter.com/ShFep8Vrfv

— Yasmin Syed (@yasminstefsyed) June 11, 2023

Now, with 14 titles, and close to $20 million in prize money, the Pole is securely in place on top of the tennis charts. And it has come in a rather brutal fashion. Of the 13 finals she had won coming into the weekend, 12 had been in straight sets, and most were straightforward. On Saturday, that appeared to be the pattern once again as she led by a set (6-2) and 3-0. During the tournament, as she thrashed Wang Xinyu 6-0, 6-0 in the third round, to take her tally of 6-0 set wins in the tournament to four, she had to ask for a little respect for her opponents as ‘bagel factory’ started to be used freely. But what it essentially highlighted was the Pole’s sheer dominance on the surface and more precisely at Roland Garros. Eventually, in the title clash, Swiatek came out on top in a humdinger with Muchova twice leading Iga in the deciding set but unable to capitalise on it. That extended the Pole’s record at Roland Garros to 25 wins in the last 26 matches and 28-2 overall. As far as crazy ambitions go, she needs to win 84 matches and lose one to match Nadal. At your own pace, Iga. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News ,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.