Defending champion Iga Swiatek booked her place in the Roland-Garros final for the third time in four years
Defending champion Iga Swiatek (L) and Beatriz Haddad Maia (R)
Defending champion Iga Swiatek booked her place in the Roland-Garros final for the third time in four years after she ended the dream run of 14th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, beating the Brazilian 6-2, 7-6(7).
Just as she did in 2020, when she won her first Grand Slam title as the unseeded World No.54, Swiatek hasn’t dropped a set en route to the final, where she will face the unseeded Czech player Karolina Muchova, who edged out No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka in a three-set thriller earlier on Thursday.
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The win also ensured Swiatek will retain the No.1 ranking after Roland Garros concludes, whatever the result against Muchova.
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“I’m just pretty happy to be in the final again. It was a tough match, and especially the second set, every point counted. It was stressful in some moments, so I’m happy that I was really solid and I was able to close it in the tiebreaker,” Swiatek said after the win as quoted by WTA.
The Pole had to come from a break down in each set and saved a set point in the second-set tiebreak and eight games marked the most she lost in her six matches so far this fortnight.
After turning around an 0-1 head-to-head against Haddad Maia, Swiatek will seek to do it against Muchova in Saturday’s final. The Czech won their only prior meeting four years ago in Prague, when Swiatek was a 17-year-old ranked No.95 in the world.
Speaking on her how she will prepare for the final, the 22-year-old Pole said: “There is no sense to change anything. If you’re in a final it means your routine is working. Our goal is to play this match as any other one. I always tried to do that and it usually works.”
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