Iga Swiatek SHATTERS multiple records as she reaches her third French Open final defeating Beatriz Haddad Maia
The Polish star powered into the 2023 French Open final which she is the favorite to win
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Iga Swiatek (Image Credits: EPA)
Iga Swiatek defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia and secured passage to her third final at the French Open. The World Number 1 broke numerous records in the process. Her 6-2, 7-6(7) win at the Philippe Chatrier court meant she has reached all three of her French Open finals without losing a set. She has continued that streak with straight set wins at the 2020 and 2022 finals.
Swiatek became the fourth youngest female player to reach her third French Open final. Monica Seles, Steffi Graf, and Chris Evert are the only ones to hit this feat at a younger age. At 22 years and eight days, Swiatek is young enough to reach many more finals.
Swiatek’s dominant performances at the Roland Garros are reflected in her win percentage. The Polish star has won 93.1% of her matches at the French Open during her career. Only one other woman betters that win percentage at a single Grand Slam tournament. Margaret Court has a marginally better record than Swiatek, having won 95.2% of her French Open matches. Court also won 95.5% of her Australian Open games. But with her dominance on the circuit, Swiatek will fancy herself to equal and surpass that record.
With this win, the 22-year-old has also made her ninth final on the clay court. This means that Swiatek has reached the final of 56.3% of the 16 clay court tournaments she has participated in. This ratio on clay is only topped by legends such as Chris Evert (67.2%), Steffi Graf (58.9%), and Evonne Goolagong (57.1%). Swiatek will have her sights set on overtaking these tennis stars in the record book.
Iga Swiatek’s journey to the 2023 French Open final
Swiatek has had a dominant French Open in 2023. She entered the tournament as the clear favorite, having won the 2020 and 2022 titles. She wasted no time proving to everyone that she was looking to go back-to-back. Her first-round game was against unseeded Cristina Bucsa, whom she defeated 6-4, 6-0.
She passed American Claire Liu with the same scoreline in the second round. Her third-round match was a masterclass. She defeated Xinyu Wang without losing a single game, a double bagel. The fourth round was cut short as opponent Lesia Tsurenko retired due to fatigue. Swiatek led that game 5-1 when it was stopped.
The quarterfinal clash was a rematch of last year’s final. Coco Gauff was out to redeem himself and was on an incredible streak herself. Swiatek brushed off Gauff’s challenge as she won 6-4, 6-2 to reach the semifinals. She won the first set against Haddad Maia easily. But she showed incredible resilience in the second set to win the tiebreak. A thrilling contest saw Swiatek come back from 5-3 in the tiebreak to win 9-7 somehow. She showed the world why she sits on top of the WTA rankings and will for a long time to come.
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Samarth Srivastava
(139 Articles Published)