French Open: Iga Swiatek - a 19-year-old amazes Paris
Even if it was said before the 2020 French Open that the women's competition was almost impossible to predict: The victory of Iga Swiatek , but above all the way it came about, came about for almost all observers, Fans and colleagues surprising.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Oct 11, 2020, 01:12 pm
When Iga Swiatek sent last year's finalist Marketa Vondrousova back home two weeks ago at the beginning of the French Open, it was only worth a small side note in the great hustle and bustle of the Grand Slam. When she finished the title favorite Simona Halep with 6: 1 and 6: 2 on the middle weekend, the first curious glances were directed at the carefree teenager. Well, at the end of the Roland Garros tournament 2020, the young Polish woman rightly deserves the full attention and the creative headlines: "Poland Garros", "Iga Giantek" or "Roland Igarros" were headlines in Swiatek's homeland after the flawless 6: 4, 6: 1 triumph of the 19-year-old Warsaw woman against Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin (USA).
Seldom has a debut victory on a big stage been accompanied by such great self-confidence and playful consistency as in the case of Swiatek. The young Polish woman didn't make a single sentence, who only stood in the red sand for eight and a half hours in seven successful matches. "This Grand Slam victory will be followed by many more," tweeted US legend Chris Evert enthusiastically after Swiatek's final appearance. A “new star” was born, said France's former world-class player Mary Pierce, who presented the trophy to Swiatek at the official victory ceremony, the first ever Polish Grand Slam individual winner.
Swiatek's voice fails
Swiatek almost gave up her voice at the festivities, she also admitted with wonderful openness “that I don't know what to say at the moment”: “I can't think of anything.” But she had all the more her talent, her creativity and hers Let mental stability speak for itself, so impressive that even the best rivals mostly only looked like extras on the big Swiatek show. Which was all the more astonishing as Swiatek had not yet won a single title on the big tennis tour and was only allowed to celebrate his first victories in a smaller tennis court. “That was a start from zero to one hundred. But she just has a great talent, ”said Tomasz Tomaszewski, one of the most renowned Polish sports observers.
Swiatek had aroused expectations two years ago as the winner of the Wimbledon youth tournament. The fact that she would now ennoble the difficult transition from junior to adult tennis with a Grand Slam triumph under twenty still came as a small sensation. For the 19-year-old, a brave step paid off admirably - after the success at Wimbledon, Swiatek hired the former rower Daria Abramowicz as a mental advisor. Swiatek spoke to the trained psychologist again and again during the French Open mission, once again urgently before the final. “It was just about keeping things going as usual. To forget what kind of game it is, ”said Swiatek. She did it masterfully.
Later Swiatek also spoke about the unpredictability in modern women's tennis, about the many unexpected winners, about the dominance of the men with the big three - Djokovic, Nadal, Federer. "It would be nice if we had more consistency, not these ups and downs," said Swiatek, "the most important thing for me will be: consistency at a high level."