Swiatek defeats Paolini to clinch third consecutive French Open crown
Iga Swiatek crushed 12th seed Jasmine Paolini on Saturday to win her third consecutive French Open title and fifth Grand Slam overall.
Swiatek's 6-2 6-1 victory at Roland Garros, her 21st in a row, moved her up to fourth on the list of longest streaks in the Open era, trailing only Chris Evert (29), Monica Seles (25) and Justine Henin 24.
She also became the third woman to win three consecutive French Open titles, following Henin (2005-07) and Seles (1990-92).
The 23-year-old Pole extended her clay-court winning streak to a career-high 19 matches, claiming her fourth French Open title in five years.
"It means a lot. This tournament has been pretty surreal with its beginning and the second round, and then I was able to get my game better every match," Swiatek told reporters, with the shining Suzanne Lenglen cup beside her.
"I'm really proud of myself because the expectations have been pretty high from the outside. Pressure, as well. I'm happy that I just went for it and I was ready to deal with all of this. And I could win."
Swiatek, who is now 5-0 in major finals after winning the US Open in 2022, is the first woman to win the same Grand Slam title three years in a row since American Serena Williams in 2012-14 at Flushing Meadows.
However, she admitted that the pressures of being a perfectionist had weighed on her this year.
"It's when the pressure from the outside hits me, then it's a little bit worse," Swiatek said. "But I managed it well at this tournament. It was an emotional win, because I felt a lot of stress yesterday and today in the morning. I felt really proud of myself."
Swiatek started strong, but after narrowly missing the opportunity to break from 0-40 down in the second game, the top seed Pole made heavy weather of the next game, surrendering her serve before bouncing back.
The diminutive Paolini, the third Italian woman to reach the Roland Garros final since the sport became professional in 1968, went toe-to-toe with Swiatek before cracking in the sixth game.
Swiatek began to dominate the exchanges from the baseline, superbly working the angles and clinching the opening set in 37 minutes after winning 20 of 24 points since falling behind a break.
A shell-shocked Paolini smiled and won odd points early in the next set, but her challenge faded in the afternoon sun as Swiatek broke twice to take a 4-0 advantage.
Swiatek, who had only dropped one set all tournament in a second-round match against Naomi Osaka, won 10 straight games before Paolini scored, but there was no late comeback.
Swiatek sealed the victory in 68 minutes when Paolini hit a long shot, dropping to her knees and pumping her fists while letting out a loud roar, before joining her entourage in the stands to celebrate.
"To play you here is the toughest challenge in this sport," Paolini, who will compete in the doubles final with Errani on Sunday, told Swiatek at the presentation ceremony.
The 28-year-old, who will move up to number seven in the world on Monday, touched on the difficulties of playing Swiatek.
"She's taking the balls early... She can defend really well," Paolini said. "She won four titles and she's still 23. These numbers aren't normal. They're unbelievable."
SportsLigue