By: Jovia Zhang
Iga Swiatek won 6–1, 6–3 against American prodigy Coco Gauff on June 4th, Saturday’s Open French Finals at the main Philippe Chatrier Court.
In just over an hour, Swiatek anchored her status as the game’s leading player, defeating Gauff and winning her 35th straight match and 6th straight tournament.
At the beginning of the game, Swiatek had a 4–0 lead before Gauff managed to serve. When returning both Gauff’s first and second serves, Swiatek won more than fifty percent of the points. Overall, she won 62 of the 101 points in the final. Gauff broke Swiatek’s serve once but lost her own five times. This means she won a match where Swiatek served but lost five when she served.
Swiatek had been claiming unbalanced victories for the past four months. According to the New York Times, Swiatek said, “I think in 2020, the main thing that I felt was confusion, because I have never really believed 100 percent that I can actually win a Grand Slam.” Gauff, three years younger than Swiatek, has yet to win a set against her in their three encounters. As reported in the New York Times, Gauff said, “Strategy-wise, I mean, going in, honestly it was tough to come up with something with someone who hasn’t lost in a while.”
Swiatek had switched coaches in the off-season, hiring Tomasz Wiktorowski. Although Swiatek finished the 2021 season in ataxia, her new team came together quickly, and she hasn’t lost since February. According to the New York Times, Coach Wiktorowski said, “When I came to the team in December, I said, ‘OK, let’s start with the strengths, not the weak points,’ It was, for me, really important for her to focus on what she did well, not just what she needed to improve.” She now has a 42–3 record and winning titles in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome, and now, Paris. She actually won her first major title without losing a set in Paris and is now 9-1 in tour singles finals.
Swiatek’s winning streak is the longest on the WTA Tour for more than twenty years, matching Venus William’s 35-match streak in 2000. Interestingly, both Swiatek and Gauff played in the French Open girl’s tournament four years ago, where Gauff won the title and Swiatek lost in the semifinals.
Despite her impressive reign, Swiatek has never beat the No. 1 player, abruptly retired 25-year-old Ashleigh Barty on her tour in singles. As for her match against Gauff in Paris, as reported in the New York Times, Swiatek said, “How every puzzle has to come together and basically every aspect of the game has to work. With that awareness, I was even happier and more proud of myself, because in 2020 I just felt that I’m lucky, you know. This time, I felt like I really did the work.”
Sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/04/sports/tennis/iga-swiatek-french-open-champion.html?searchResultPosition=1