French Open 2023: Iga Swiatek has record in sight against maiden Slam finalist Karolina Muchova

Defending French Open champion Iga Swiatek will hope to become the first woman to successfully defend the title in Paris in 16 years when she faces surprise finalist Karolina Muchova. Into her third French Open final in four years, World No 1 Swiatek has won them all. She also collected her third major title at the US Open last year. Justine Henin was the last woman to win back-to-back French Open titles when she captured her third in a row and fourth in total back in 2007.

🔥Just grateful. Keep dreaming, keep fighting...

🔥Jestem po prostu wdzięczna. Warto marzyć, warto walczyć...#FINAL #onemoretime pic.twitter.com/qHGCeynLoZ

— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) June 8, 2023

As far as form goes, Swiatek is a strong favourite to lift the trophy once again. The 22-year-old is yet to drop a set this fortnight but will be wary of her Czech opponent who knocked out second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals after recovering from 2-5 and match point down in the final set. Swiatek’s win over Beatriz Haddad Maia in the semi-finals and Sabalenka’s shock defeat meant the Pole will remain World No 1 next week. She is the youngest woman since Monica Seles in the early 1990s to reach three French Open finals, while world number 43 Muchova is the fourth lowest ranked player to reach the showpiece match in Paris. The first of those forays into the title clash came in the rescheduled French Open that was played in the cold conditions. Then 19 years old, ranked 54 in the world, Swiatek clinched the trophy three years after Jelena Ostapenko’s shock win.

💬 " It is just tough to play such a long tournament and I'm pretty happy that I'm able to play consistently"

Swiatek keeps her impressive winning streak alive ⤵️#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/TDUgF1hNrg

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 8, 2023

Many questioned her ability to repeat that success when the cavalry returns to the usual time slot. But she proved them wrong last year with the only hiccup coming against Qinwen Zheng. It is still far too early but Swiatek is starting to assert her dominance at Roland Garros similar to 14-time champion Rafael Nadal. “Rafa, what he did and what he’s still doing, it’s pretty amazing,” said Swiatek. “I never kind of knew that it’s gonna be possible for me. “So it was totally out of my reach, if I can say that. And still he played so well so many years, I don’t know if it’s going to be possible for me.” Swiatek will also join Monica Seles and Naomi Osaka as the only women to win each of their first four Grand Slam finals.

66.7% - Karolina Muchova has won 66.7% of her Grand Slam matches v top-10 (6-3): only Graf (75.3%), Navratilova (70.6%) and S. Williams (68.9%) have a higher win ratio since the WTA rankings were first published - min. 9 such matches. Unshy.#RolandGarros | @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/uxMnec6EBs

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) June 8, 2023

With Swiatek, 27-2 at French Open, the overwhelming favourite, Muchova comes in as the underdog. But the Czech player can take heart from her impressive record against top-3 players. She’s won all five matches in her career against players in the top three – four of them at Grand Slams. “It’s nice. I didn’t really even know about this statistic. It just shows me that I can play against them,” said the 26-year-old Muchova trying to become the first woman to beat the two top ranked players at a Grand Slam since Svetlana Kuznetsova at the 2009 French Open. Injury plagued career [caption id=“attachment_12712702” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova celebrates after defeating Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals of the 2023 French Open women’s singles event. AP[/caption] It is baffling to see Muchova reach the French Open final considering she was once suggested to give up the sport. Once a top-20 player, Muchova was sidelined by an abdominal problem for seven months in 2021. Last year she was taken off the court in a wheelchair at the French Open after suffering an ankle injury. Only September last year, she was ranked outside the top 200. If that had remained the case, she would have required either a wildcard or been forced to pin her hopes on qualifying. “There has been many moments, many lows, I would say, from one injury to another,” said Muchova. “For sure when I missed the Australian Open last year, and I was in a pretty bad state health-wise, I was working out a lot to try to get back. “Some doctors told me maybe you’ll not do sport anymore. But I always kept it kind of positive in my mind and tried to work and do all the exercises to be able to come back.” For the fifth French Open in a row, a woman is playing their first Grand Slam final. Muchova follows Marketa Vondrousova, Sofia Kenin, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Coco Gauff. While Swiatek has been on the up since her win in 2020, Muchova has endured a rollercoaster. But Karolina savours the journey even more now. “In the past, it was not easy. That’s actually what makes me appreciate this result even more now, because I know what I have been through in the past,” Muchova said after beating Sabalenka. “To be now in a Grand Slam final, it’s for sure my dream. I’m super, super glad that I’m here.” “It’s up-and-downs in life all the time. Now I’m enjoying that I’m on the upper part now.” Head-to-head: Swiatek 0-1 Muchova Their only previous meeting came in Prague in 2019 when Muchova won in three sets. Muchova came from a set down to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the first round. Then, Muchova needed a wildcard to enter the main draw and Swiatek’s route was through qualifying. It will be their second meeting and first at a major. When is the French Open women’s singles final? The women’s singles final between Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova will be played on Saturday, 10 June at 3 PM local time (6:30 PM IST). What is the prize money for the French Open women’s final? By making the French Open final, both Swiatek and Muchova have assured themselves of 1,300 ranking points and 1,150,000 euros. The champion will finally earn 2000 ranking points and 2.3 million euros. Swiatek, into her second consecutive French Open final, is already assured of maintaining her place at the top of the WTA Rankings. Muchova, meanwhile, will re-enter the top-20. If she wins, she will enter the top-10 for the first time. Where to watch the French Open women’s singles final? The women’s singles final between Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova will be available on SONY SPORTS TEN 5 & SONY SPORTS TEN 5 HD, SONY SPORTS TEN 2 & SONY SPORTS TEN 2 HD, SONY SPORTS TEN 3 & SONY SPORTS TEN 3 HD (Hindi), SONY SPORTS TEN 4 & SONY SPORTS TEN 4 HD (Tamil & Telugu). The title clash can also be live streamed on SonyLiv website/app with a subscription. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News ,  India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.