PARIS/STARNBERG, October 10, 2020 (by Alessandro Boroch)
On Saturday afternoon in Paris, 19-year-old Iga Swiatek wrote Polish tennis history by becoming the first-ever player from Poland to win a major singles title. Swiatek overwhelmed No. 4 seed Sofia Kenin from the United States, 6-4, 6-1, to win the French Open women’s singles crown on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
🇵🇱 Polish Perfection 🇵🇱 @iga_swiatek becomes the first Grand Slam singles champion from Poland and does not drop a set en route to her first career title 6-4 6-1 over Kenin.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/jRuF4jE3ul
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 10, 2020
The unseeded Swiatek is the first woman since Justine Henin in 2007 to secure the Roland Garros singles trophy without dropping a set.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Swiatek said during an on-court interview after her victory. “I’m so happy. I’m so happy my family was here finally. I don’t know. It was overwhelming for me. Two years ago, I won a junior Grand Slam and now I’m here. It feels like such a short time. I’m just overwhelmed.”
19yo Iga Swiatek wins her first Grand Slam 🏆 in #RolandGarros with a flawless run:
61 62 x Vondrousova in 1h03
61 64 x Hsieh in 1h07
63 62 x Bouchard in 1h14
61 62 x Halep in 1h08
63 61 x Trevisan in 1h18
62 61 x Podoroska in 1h10
64 61 x Kenin in 1h24Time on court: 8h24
— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) October 10, 2020
Swiatek started the final furiously, after immediately producing a break to gain a 3-0 lead. She lost just three of the first 15 points of the encounter. However, running away with the break lead turned out to be more difficult, as the current World No. 54 began showing nervousness in her first major final, eventually producing a double fault to help the reigning Australian Open champion Kenin to equalize the score again.
The following games were very contested – all went to deuce – with Swiatek serving for the set at 5-3. Eventually, she conceded a re-break after Kenin blasted a backhand return winner. However, Swiatek remained composed despite having missed a chance to close the set. After 50 minutes, it was therefore no big surprise that Swiatek still won the opening set 6-4, displaying outstanding defense to force errors off Kenin’s racket.
A set away from a maiden slam 🏆@iga_swiatek wins her 11th consecutive set of the tournament 6-4 over Kenin.#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/xATWmf6wsQ
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 10, 2020
Both players traded breaks at the start of the second set, but it was still Swiatek who was the more active competitor. She showed great variety with the help of massive spin in her shots.
I bang on about this a lot for clay but so far a huge difference is simply that Świątek has a bunch of margin (net clearance and spin) to work with on many of her shots. Kenin much less.
Kenin’s spin (RPM) peak so far this match: 1920
Świątek’s spin (RPM) peak so far: 3453
— Matthew Willis (@MattRacquet) October 10, 2020
Down 1-2 to Swiatek, Kenin took a medical time-out for a left hip/thigh problem. After receiving medical attention off of the court, Kenin could not earn anymore games to her advantage. She received a virtual bagel from Swiatek, who finally gained victory after just 84 minutes. The young Pole ended the match with 25 winners.
Your 2020 #RolandGarros singles champion, @iga_swiatek! 🤩🏆pic.twitter.com/yle9ou10zm
— wta (@WTA) October 10, 2020
Thanks to her spectacular run in Paris, Swiatek will enter the Top 20 for the first time when the new WTA rankings are updated next week. She will hold a career-high ranking of No. 17.
“I hope cat watching, but she’s not here. Hope she’s watching at home.”
Your 2020 champion, @iga_swiatek#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/0zdQU3YM6O
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) October 10, 2020
Stricker wins French Open junior boys’ title
Dominic Stephan Stricker defeated Leandro Riedi, 6-2, 6-4, in 61 minutes in an all-Swiss junior boys’ final. Stricker won 70 percent of his first-serve points, broke Riedi five times, and outpointed his opponent 66-50. Stricker is the first French Open junior boys’ champion from Switzerland since Stan Wawrinka won the title in 2003.
