Tennis
The Pole is the queen of the clay court docket once more in Paris. The result’s comparisons with Nadal. Within the closing towards Jasmine Paolini she leaves little doubt about her victory.
Poland’s Iga Swiatek will kiss the trophy after her French Open.
Photograph: Thibault Camus/AP/dpa
Iga Swiatek threw her racket onto the purple clay of Court docket Philippe Chatrier, sank to her knees and screamed with pleasure. A short while later, the Pole obtained the silver Suzanne Lenglen Cup from the palms of two tennis icons Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, who praised the present chief in girls’s tennis on the celebratory ceremony.
Swiatek made tennis historical past along with her fourth French Open title. In a one-sided closing, the 23-year-old gained towards hopeless outsider Jasmine Paolini from Italy 6:2, 6:1 and have become the youngest four-time Grand Slam winner on clay. “I like this place and I can not wait to return right here yearly,” stated Swiatek, whose voice cracked twice throughout the speech.
In the future earlier than the boys’s closing between German Olympic champion Alexander Zverev (27) and younger Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz (21), Swiatek emphasised her present dominance in girls’s tennis – particularly on clay. For the world primary, it was his third win in a row on the Stade Roland Garros; 1990 to 1992).
Along with his twenty first consecutive victory on the French Open, Swiatek surpassed tennis icon Steffi Graf (20) on this class. It was Swiatek’s fifth Grand Slam title.
Paolini, who was solely in a position to compete in a Grand Slam closing for the primary time, has one other likelihood for the title in Paris. In Sunday’s doubles closing, the 28-year-old will compete with Sara Errani towards US star Coco Gauff and Czech Republic’s Katerina Siniakova. She will additionally take solace in the truth that she will probably be shifting into the highest ten for the primary time on this planet rankings in seventh place from Monday.
“One of the best participant on this planet gained the event impressively and, after the thrilling second within the second spherical towards Naomi Osaka, he performed as if in a single piece,” stated the previous coach nationwide Barbara Rittner at Eurosport, referring to the stopped recreation level. at Swiatek towards Osaka.
Swiatek’s spectacular statistics on the world’s most vital clay court docket event impressed the tennis world. “These are numbers I do know from one of many males. His identify is Rafael Nadal, that is precisely how he began,” stated tennis icon Boris Becker. Nadal, who beat Zverev within the first spherical in Paris on his final look, is the undisputed clay court docket king with 14 French Open titles.
“We’ll see in 14 years if the journey is comparable,” stated Swiatek, who thinks comparisons with the good Nadal himself are a bit exaggerated: “For me he is above everybody, he is an entire legend.” But it surely’s “cool” and he or she provides “I am additionally proud to be talked about in the identical sentence as Nadal”.
Within the girls’s class, Chris Evert of the USA isn’t far behind Swiatek with seven wins. By then the Pole will lastly be queen of the brand new clay court docket of Paris.