World No. 1 Polish Iga Swiatek won her third Roland Garros crown, second in a row, after defeating Czech Karolina Muchova, ranked 43rd, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 .
After qualifying for the final without losing a set, the 22-year-old from Warsaw had to put in a thorough effort to beat the surprising Czech, who took her first since being left behind in the round of 16 against the Chinese last year. Qinwen Zheng.
Muchova, having just beaten world No. 2 Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, broke a streak of five wins in as many games against members of the world’s top-3.
Swiatek finally managed to add his fourth major, in as many finals, after winning the US Open last year.
The 26-year-old Czech sold her skin dearly, true to her fame as a “gigantic killer”, until the last moment she feigned surprise, but with her last breath gave in to the pressure of the Pole, who overcame a difficult situation .
With this victory, she strengthens her position as number 1 in the ranking, which she has carried since April last year and which threatens Sabalenka.
Swiatek becomes the youngest tennis player with three Roland Garros wins since Monica Seles and, along with her US Open win in 2022, makes her the youngest four-time major winner since Serena Williams.
In addition, it is the first to win two victories on the Paris clay court since Belgium’s Justine Henin in 2006.
The Pole took her 18th victory on clay this season and secured her 14th title in the 18 finals she has played.
After some difficulties in the semifinal against Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad, the Pole again had to sweat in her last two sets in an intense final.
Muchova, recovering from a career-crushing bout of injuries, who had not played in a tournament final in four years, left a major sensation as she played in a Grand Slam for the first time in her entire career.
After missing the first set, in which she multiplied unforced errors, and trailing 3-0 in the second, the reaction came from the Czech, who adjusted her sights and managed to tie and even take the lead.
Twice he had his serve to win the partial and the second time he took advantage of it.
The first set Swiatek lost in nine matches in Paris left her stunned and the prospect of fighting on left her looking into the abyss of defeat.
The Polish dropped eight consecutive points and was 2-0 behind in the last set, while the emergency lights came on in her field.
The one from Warsaw took a deep breath, turned her head to the field and managed to return to the match, already scarred with nerves, which became more of a mental battle than a tennis match in which the strongest would agree to victory.
Service stoppages multiplied amidst the confusion, but the Pole managed to calm down as Muchova, who had fought Sabalenka for over 3 hours, began to feel fatigued.
With 2 and 46 minutes left on the clock, a double fault canceled out her attempt and the Pole won for the third time on clay in Paris.
Source: El heraldo
I’m George Gonzalez, a professional journalist and author at The Nation View. With more than 5 years of experience in the field, I specialize in covering sports news for various print media outlets. My passion for writing has enabled me to craft stories that capture the attention of readers all over the world.
