Roland Garros: title defense! - Swiatek wrestles Muchova in high profile final
Iga Swiatek was challenged by Karolina Muchova in the final of the 2023 French Open, but eventually defeated the Czech in three sets.
by SID/red.
last edit: Jun 10, 2023, 06:19 pm
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Iga Swiatek buried his face in his hands and knelt on the red ashes of Paris: The Polish world number one successfully defended her title and crowned herself at the French Open for the third time. In the final, Swiatek beat the surprise finalist Karolina Muchova from the Czech Republic 6:2, 5:7, 6:4 after a battle of nerves.
After 2:46 hours, Swiatek used her first match point and was cheered on by the fans - a double fault was Muchova's undoing. The 22-year-old Swiatek also won her fourth Grand Slam final and celebrated the next title in Roland Garros after 2020 and 2022.
Clear allocation of roles before the start
Swiatek lost a set for the first time in the entire tournament, but fought off her strong opponent's comeback attempt with great difficulty. The clay court specialist, who also triumphed at the US Open last year, seems well on her way to marking an era at Roland Garros.
Around 3 p.m., the two protagonists entered the Court Philippe Chatrier in the Parisian afternoon heat. The roles were clearly divided before the start - it was the dominator of women's tennis Swiatek with the world ranking 43rd. Muchova to do.
Strong nerve performance of the outsider
And Swiatek did indeed get off to a superior start. The Pole, dressed all in white, acted powerfully and clawed the first break straight away - Muchova seemed nervous and agitated, so it was 3-0 for the favorite after less than ten minutes.
"I have a lot of respect for her, she's a player who can do everything," Swiatek warned of her opponent before the game. Muchova then indicated why. She shook off her tension and sniffed the rebreak several times. Swiatek, however, kept his cool, fended off breakballs and showed his fist for the first time. "She has her nerves under control admirably," praised national coach Barbara Rittner on the Eurosport microphone.
Swiatek broke in the middle of the second set
Muchova, who wrote an impressive comeback story in the days of Paris last year after numerous injuries and a serious career setback, then played on an equal footing. Swiatek, clearly superior to Coco Gauff (USA) in last year's final, didn't let the set win go away.
The second round was similar to the first at the beginning. After an early 3-0 lead, however, Swiatek experienced a major break in their game and Muchova worked her way back into the game, which was now getting tighter and tighter.
Better ending for Swiatek
She's trying to "just stay cool," Swiatek said before the start, but it didn't work. After a festival of mistakes and breaks, things got spectacular in the decisive game of the second set. Muchova won a great rally to the thunderous applause of the spectators and finally forced the decisive set.
Swiatek was visibly on the ropes at the beginning of the third round, but eventually recovered. Again there were several breaks, in the end it got dramatic - with the better end for the defending champion.