There are two mega sporting events taking place in Paris on Saturday which have attracted thousands of people from around the world. As well as the prestigious French Open, nearby the Stade de France will host the Champions League Final between Liverpool and Real Madrid.
On the day the two sports collided, Iga Swiatek continued her dominant run at Roland Garros with a 6-3, 7-5, win over Danka Kovinic. Despite the straightforward scoreline, the top seed endured her toughest test yet at the Grand Slam. After clinching the opener with relative ease and then opening up a 4-2 lead in the second, Swiatek came unstuck for the first time as she dropped serve twice in a row. In her previous two matches, she was only broken once. Despite the blip the Pole managed to bounce back to seal victory.
“I felt like she used my power in some moments so I had to adjust a little bit more to what she was playing, and for sure played a little bit smarter,” Swiatek said of Kovinic.
“I changed the tactics in second set a little bit to play less risky but then I made some mistakes. I lost my breaks. I’m not perfectly happy with that, but overall I’m happy with the performance, and that I came back in the second set.”
The 20-year-old has now won 31 matches in a row, which is the longest streak on the WTA Tour since 2013 when Serena Williams claimed 34 straight wins. Even more impressive for the Pole is that she has won 48 out of the past 49 sets played.
“From my point of view I don’t really mind the streak. I’m just playing my tennis. I gained so many points this season already that I try to look at it from that perspective that I actually have nothing to lose here,” she said.
“I had many tight matches in Stuttgart…Rome. It’s not that I forgot how to play these kinds of sets. So it’s okay.”
Immediately after her win over Kovinic, Swiatek made reference to the big football final by writing ‘Real Madrid or Liverpool??’ on the camera lens. There is roughly a distance of around 15km between Roland Garros and the Stade de France where thousands will be gathering tonight but not all of them have tickets.
However, Swiatek found herself in a different scenario. Admitting that she is yet to watch a football match ‘at a really good level,’ she had the opportunity to attend but opted against doing so. Saying she wants to maintain her focus on the French Open where she is seeking her second major title.
“I really wanted (to go). It was actually possible for me but I’m not that sure yet if it’s going to interfere with my rhythm and the tournament,” Swiatek explains.
“So I talked with my team about it yesterday that maybe in like two, three years, I’m going to be able to go in like some exciting events during (Grand Slams) and I’m still going to be able to focus. But for now it’s still pretty tricky for me, so I decided it’s better to keep the routines.”
Swiatek will play China’s Zheng Qinwen in the fourth round who was leading Alize Cornet 6-0, 3-0, in her match before the Frenchwoman was forced to retire. Qinwen, who reached the semi-finals of the girls tournament back in 2019, is through to the last 16 of a major for the first time in her career.
So far in her career, Swiatek has won 17 out of 19 matches played at the French Open.
