Swiatek struggles to third French Open trophy

Iga Swiatek held off a storming fightback from Karolina Muchova on Saturday to win her third French Open title in the past four editions 6-2, 5-7, 6-4., 

Swiatek worked to find a path to victory after leading a set and 3-0 but losing her way in a mid-match dip in form.

She lost her first set of the tournament as Muchova levelled the final at a set each on her third opportunity.

Swiatek twice came from a break down in the third set, winning after two an three-quarter hours as Muchova double-faulted on her opponent’s first match point.

A tearful Swiatek knelt on the clay as she claimed her fourth Grand Slam singles title (also US Open last season) from as many career finals.

Her celebration on the podium went slightly off script as she shook the top off of the Suzanne Lenglen trophy as she raised it for a victory photo.

“Congrats to Karolina, I knew we would have a tough final,’ the winner said. “I hop we will have many more.

“I love being here, this is my favourite tournament on the Tour.”

The Polish top seed and defending champion will hang onto the WTA No. 1 ranking as a result of her victory.

She is the first women to successfully defend the Paris title since Justine Henin in 2007.

Swiatek managed only 19 winners and had 27 unforced errors.

She stands 61-13 in Grand Slam marches and at 22 is the youngest to play back-to-back Roland Garros finals since Ana Ivanovic in 2017-2018.

The Paris triumph marked her 14 career trophy from 17 finals played.

Muchova got emotional during the post-match ceremony with former great Chris Evert the trophy presenter.

.”it’s emotional, this is incredible,” Muchova said. “Thank you every one.

“It’s been an amazing three weeks here for me and m team.

“This mach was so close and so far, but that’s what happens when you play one of the best.”

No. 43 Muchova came close to duplicating her semi-final shock of world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka as she finally ceded to Swiatek; she will move up to 16th in the  world according to WTA calculations.

Swiatek is the youngest since Monica Seles (1990, 1991, 2992) to win consecutive titles here and joins Seles and Naomi Osaka as the only women in the post-1968 Open Era to win each of their first four Grand Slam finals.

Swiatek was relatively unchallenged as she won the opening set in 45 minutes.

But the second set prove much more problematic, with Muchova – already down a break – breaking for 3-2 with a topspin forehand winner down the line; she squared the set a game later, 3-all.

Muchova earned her first break of the match for a 4-3 lead, but fired wide on three returns a game later as her opponent charged back for 5-5. 

The challenger forced a deciding final set as she held after the pair exchanged three consecutive service breaks with Muchova coming good on her third set point. 

Swiatek began a fightback deciding set in the worst way, double-faulting to drop serve in the opening game.

The seed managed break backs in the fourth and eighth games to complete her victory surge. 

Main photo:- Roland Garros Paris French Open 2023 OOPS! Iga Swiatek (POL) drops the lid of the Suzanne Lenglen trophy after winning Women’s singles by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd