By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Saturday, June 8, 2024
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek crushed Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-1 to capture her third straight Roland Garros crown and improve to 5-0 in Grand Slam finals.
Photo credit: Mateo Villalba/Getty
Tuning into the musical muse, Iga Swiatek sported white headphones and focused face as she stepped on court.
Unleashing a symphony of shots, Swiatek conducted unstoppable anthem.
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World No. 1 Swiatek rocked maiden major finalist Jasmine Paolini rolling to a Roland Garros championship three-peat with a stylish 6-2, 6-1 thrashing.
Streaks of red clay streaked Swiatek’s socks after she stormed through 11 of the last 12 games capping a clean conquest. Swiatek stretched her Roland Garros winning streak to 21 matches solidifying her status among elite clay-court champions.
The 23-year-old Swiatek swept her fourth French Open championship in the last five years, raising her Grand Slam finals record to an immaculate 5-0. She did it all after climbing off the red clay canvas and saving a match point to subdue four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka in round two.
“I was almost out of the tournament in the second round so thank you guys for kind of staying behind my back and cheering for me," Swiatek told French Open fans. "I also needed to believe that this one is going to be possible. So it’s been a really emotional tournament so thank you for supporting me."
The Cinderella story of Paris, Paolini incited a huge roar when she went up 2-1.
Then a ruthless Swiatek stomped the 28-year-old Italian soaring through 11 of the next 12 games in a 68-minute blow-out that was the most lopsided of her four French Open final wins.
On the WTA Tour, Swiatek is a dominant No. 1. Now, she’s joined iconic champions exuding major closing power. Swiatek is the third woman in Open Era history to win her first five major finals after Margaret Court, who won her first eight major finals and Monica Seles, who claimed her first six Slam finals.
It is Swiatek’s 21st consecutive Roland Garros victory—the fourth longest Open Era women’s winning streak in Paris behind only Chrissie Evert (29), Monica Seles (25) and Justine Henin (24). And it comes on the 50th anniversary of Evert’s maiden Roland Garros win. Swiatek’s fourth French Open crown ties her with Henin for third on the Open Era list behind only Evert (7) and Steffi Graf (6).
"I think honestly this one was most similar to 2022 because I knew what I was going for and I knew I had the game to win this tournament," Swiatek told NBC's Maria Taylor in her on-court interview. "Even though I was really close to being out of it in the second round against Naomi, I don’t know I just survived that match and then I played with huge confidence.
"So I’m really proud of myself that I didn’t stop and that the pressure didn’t squeeze me down. I just felt better and better every day. I felt my game is improving that I’m feeling the courts and feeling the ball much, much better. Also the weather got hotter and I think it suits my game—so everything, honesty–-I felt peace and just focus on court."
Talk about a winning warrior, the powerful Pole has now won 10 consecutive finals, she’s the first woman since Henin (2005-2007) to capture three straight Roland Garros crowns and only the third woman overall to pull off the Paris three-peat along with Seles (1990-1992). Swiatek joins legendary Serena Williams (2013) as just the second woman in history to sweep championships in Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros in the same calendar year.
Clearly, Iga brings her best to the biggest events.
To put Swiatek’s championship career in perspective, consider of her 22 career titles, 10 have come at WTA 1000 events, 5 are Grand Slam crowns and she’s won 5 titles this season.
Playing the biggest match of her life against the defending champion and massive favorite who had not dropped a match in Paris in 1,095 days, Paolini figured to be shaking in her shoes walking onto Court Philippe Chatrier, right?
Initially, the Dubai champion showed her class working through a deuce hold to level. Paolini dabbed a drop shot to draw the error—one of three in the game as she drew first-break blood for 2-1.
That was the beginning of the end for the 5’4” Italian who could not stop the Swiatek onslaught overwhelming her.
Despite the lopsided loss, Paolini showed the world her skills reaching both the singles and doubles finals and she lit up the City of Light with her smile and grit.
Though her dream of becoming the first Italian woman since Francesca Schiavone in 2010 to win Roland Garros was denied, Paolini is still in with a shot for the doubles title. Tomorrow, she partners Sara Errani in the women's doubles final against Katerina Siniakova and Coco Gauff.
“Congrats, Iga,I think to play you here is the toughest challenge in the sport,” Paolini said. “Congrats also to your team. You are doing an amazing job. I mean world No. 1, many Slams, I don’t know, just congratulations….
"The 10, 15 days that I’m here are the best days of my life, I think and still going because tomorrow I have the doubles final…Today was tough but I’m really proud of myself anyway."
The Paolini short-lived lead at 2-1 spiked a crowd roar and sparked Swiatek who rampaged through a love game breaking back with a backhand bolt down the line.
“I think she had an unbelievable intensity, she takes the ball early but also with spin so I think it’s really tough to play her here,” Paolini told NBC’s Maria Tayor summing up the daunting storm that is Swiatek. “I think it’s her favorite court and we can see that.”
An oppressive Swiatek squeezes safe space on red clay to the size of a welcome mat. Swiatek’s speed around the court and her finishing power spooked Paolini into going bigger and too close to the lines. At 30-all, Paolini slapped a backhand into net then double faulted to cede the break and a 2-4 lead.
You can’t fault the 5’4” Italian for trying to straddle the baseline, take the ball on the rise and try to rush the reigning champion. Because when you try to play retrieving red clay tennis against Swiatek from eight feet behind the baseline she will run you right into oblivion.
The challenge for Paolini is when you stand close and don’t hurt Swiatek with the first strike then you’re juggling hand grenades in a hurricane—bound to be blown away.
A swarming Swiatek blocked a forehand volley closing her fourth consecutive game for 5-2.
Shifting into tennis terminator mode, Swiatek sped through eight of the last nine points breaking at love to seal the 34-minute opener.
From 1-2 down, Swiatek commanded the center of the court reeling off five games in a row frequently pushing Paolini well wide of the doubles alley in pursuit of fleeing drives.
Once Swiatek got up, nothing Paolini threw at her would bring her down.
Ripping crackling drives down both lines, Swiatek slashed a running strike down the line capping a love hold for a commanding 6-2, 3-0 lead. That superb shot sealed the top seed’s eighth straight game.
Dismissing a second serve with a backhand return blast crosscourt, Swiatek stretched her lead to 4-0 after a mere 53 minutes.
When Paolini slid a forehand winner down the line, she snapped a 10-game slide and earned appreciative applause.
On championship point, Paolini's final drive sailed and Swiatek broke into the wide grin of a champion before leaping around the terre battue like a trampoline.
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Swiatek bounced her way into history today: Her five Grand Slam singles titles already matches Maria Sharapova and Martina Hingis' career major singles totals though Hingis went on to claim 25 total majors in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
This French fortnight featured the fastest match of Swiatek’s career—she annihilated Anastasia Potapova in a double-bagel beatdown that spanned just 40 minutes—and one of the toughest wins of her Roland Garros career when she saved match point and rallied from 2-5 down out-dueling former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5 in a two hour, 57-minute thriller that was the highest-quality match of her inspired run.
Swiatek leaves Paris as the first woman to win the same Slam three years in a row since Serena captured three consecutive US Open crowns from 2012-2015.
Receiving the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen and a hug from seven-time French Open champion Chrissie Evert, Swiatek can set her sights on Evert's Roland Garros title record.
New world No. 7 Paolini predicts Swiatek will "Definitely" break Evert's Roland Garros record.
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Paolini says time is on Swiatek's side and points to her 84-10 career clay-court record, including a 35-2 mark at Roland Garros to support that stance.
"She's playing unbelievable here," Paolini said "She's taking the balls early, taking time to you, but also using rotation. She can defend really, really well. On clay, she's unbelievable. Also on hard court, come on, she won so many tournaments this year.
"But I think to play her here, it's something different. She won already four titles, and she's still [23] years old...These numbers are not, let's say, normal, are something unbelievable. Yeah, I think she's unbelievable player."
An unrelenting Swiatek was unstoppable today—get ready for more unbelievable to come with the Paris Olympics marking the clay queen's Roland Garros return next month.