Iga Swiatek, a 19-year-old and 54th in the WTA rankings, became the first Polish player to win Roland Garros on Saturday, defeating American Sofia Kenin (6th) in the final, with a score of 6-4 and 6-1, in one hour and 24 minutes of play.
During the two weeks of Roland Garros, Swiatek has not lost a single set and has only dropped 28 games. On Monday, she will become the 17th ranked player in the WTA ranking.
"I was mentally strong, I tried to play aggressively, like in the previous matches. But today I was very stressed and I don't know how I won, I just wanted to stay focused. I hope your injury is not too serious," said Swiatek to Kenin, with both players crying after the match.
The American, who started the match with a bandage on her left thigh, received medical treatment in the locker room when she was losing 2-1 in the second set. She didn't win another game.
Swiatek started the match as she had flown through the previous six. In eight minutes, she already had a break and a 3-0 lead on the scoreboard.
Kenin, 21 years old and the winner of the Australian Open in February, knew her chances depended on weathering the storm and trying to make her opponent doubt, something she hadn't done before.
That's exactly what happened. With a varied game and trying to deceive her offensive tennis, Kenin got the break back and leveled the score to 3-3.
During this period, Swiatek showed signs of distraction, with shouts and the occasional hit, a facet she already showed on Friday in the doubles semifinals, which she lost with Nicole Melichar against Chilean Alexa Guarachi and American Desirae Krawczyk.
With the arguments of the fight on the table, both players offered a good performance in the culmination of this first set, which the Polish player won with fewer ups and downs than in the initial stage.
In the second set, her superiority was more evident as Kenin went to the locker room with a score of 2-1.
Swiatek stayed on the court, moving around to stay warm in the cool Parisian afternoon.
The match resumed and the whirlwind that swept Roland Garros was reactivated, winning four consecutive games to secure the victory. AFP
