By Shrivathsa Sridhar
PARIS (Reuters) – Iga Swiatek produced a powerful display to crush 12th seed Jasmine Paolini on Saturday and win her third consecutive French Open title and the fifth Grand Slam title of her career.
Swiatek's 6-2, 6-1 win, her 21st straight win at her happiest hunting ground, puts her fourth on the list of longest streak at Roland Garros in the Open era behind Chris Evert (29), Monica Seles (25) and Justin. Hanin (24).
She also became the third woman to win three consecutive French Open titles after Henin (2005-2007) and Seles (1990-1992).
The 23-year-old Polish player extended her winning streak on clay to a career-best 19 matches to win her fourth French Open title in five years.
“This means a lot. This tournament was very surreal at the beginning and in the second round and after that I was able to improve my performance in every match,” Swiatek told reporters as she stood next to her shiny Suzanne Lenglen trophy.
“I'm really proud of myself because the expectations were so high from the outside. And the pressure too. I'm glad I did my best and was ready to handle it all. And I could have won.”
Swiatek, who is now 5-0 in major finals after winning the US Open in 2022, became the first woman to win the same Grand Slam title for three consecutive years since American Serena Williams from 2012 to 2014 at Flushing Meadows.
But she said the demands of perfection have weighed heavily on her this year.
“When the outside pressure hits me, it gets a little worse,” Swiatek said. “But I managed it well in 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.”
Burning guns
Swiatek came out with all her might, but after wasting the opportunity to reduce the deficit from 0-40 in the second game, top seed Paul faced difficult weather in the next game and dropped her serve before bouncing back.
Paolini, the third Italian woman after Francesca Schiavone and Sarah Errani to reach the Roland Garros final since the sport became professional in 1968, came face to face with Swiatek before clashing in the sixth game.
As the momentum shifted, Swiatek began to dominate exchanges from the baseline, handling the angles admirably and taking the first set in 37 minutes after winning 20 of his 24 points since the break.
A shocked Paolini smiled and won odd points at the start of the next set, but her defiance faded in the afternoon sun when Swiatek broke her opponent twice for a 4-0 lead.
Swiatek, who had dropped just one set all tournament in her second-round clash with Naomi Osaka, won 10 straight games before Paolini finally came on but there was no late comeback.
Swiatek wrapped up the win in the 68th minute when Paolini shot wide, dropping to her knees and pumping her fists as she let out a massive roar, before joining her entourage in the stands to celebrate.
“Playing 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 rise to seventh in the world on Monday, spoke about the difficulties of playing Swiatek.
“She gets the ball early… and she can defend really well,” Paolini said. “She has won four titles and is still 23 years old. These numbers are not normal. They are unbelievable.”