Iga Swiatek takes just 68 MINUTES to beat Coco Gauff in French Open final
Unstoppable Iga Swiatek takes just 68 MINUTES to beat tearful Coco Gauff in the French Open final, 6-1, 6-3, matching Venus Williams’ 21st century record of 35 wins in a row on the WTA tour
World No 1 Iga Swiatek produced a ruthless display to win the French OpenThe Pole, who extended her unbeaten run to 35 matches, was victorious 6-1, 6-3Coco Gauff, her opponent, was in tears at the end after her first singles slam finalSwiatek was relentless, equalling Venus Williams 35-match streak from 2000
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There is little of the superstar about unassuming Iga Swiatek – apart from the way she plays tennis.
The 21-year-old from Poland belongs in a class of her own right now, and she only emphasised that with her crushing dismissal of Coco Gauff in Saturday’s French Open final.
Her 6-1, 6-3 victory in just 68 minutes left the 18-year-old American in tears and Swiatek in some rarefied company when it comes to the dominance she is exercising over her peers.
It is now 35 straight victories and counting, going back to mid-February, which equals the mark set by both the Williams sisters at the height of their careers. She has now collected two of the last three titles at Roland Garros and there are likely to be plenty more to come.
Iga Swiatek won her second French Open title with a dominant win against Coco Gauff
The world No 1 dropped to her knees on the clay after bulldozing her way to a 6-1, 6-3 victory
Gauff fought best she could but struggled to find any range with her forehand all match
Watch every match from Roland-Garros live and exclusive on discovery+ and Eurosport
Both players made emotional and heartfelt speeches afterwards, and while the even more likeable Gauff is something of a crowd darling it was Swiatek who drew the most applause.
‘I want to say something to Ukraine, stay strong, the world is still there,’ she said, as if emphasising that she is more about substance than superficial style.
Throughout the tournament Swiatek has been wearing a Ukraine emblem, at a time when many of her peer group seem more concerned about how any action on the issue might affect their ranking.
As she told NBC: ‘Many players have taken off the ribbons and there is huge discussion about next tournaments and points. It’s not about that but the whole situation there, and I want people to be aware.’
There was a mutual embrace at the end between the two players following the one-sided final
Gauff was playing in her first Grand Slam singles final but found no answers to Swiatek’s skill
The Pole was quick to race up to her box at the end to celebrate with her family and friends
The most substantial thing about her game are her beautifully-timed, heavy groundstrokes, delivered from a short backswing that makes them difficult to read.
Even Gauff, who is a superb mover, was often left flatfooted as she unleashed them into the corners. That reduced this final to less than the competitive showpiece that was hoped for.
It has not been an especially easy fortnight for the women’s game, with controversy over the men being preferred for the new night slot at Roland Garros, and it could have used a more memorable contest than this.
Wimbledon has chosen to disproportionately ramp up the price of its women’s final tickets this year to £240 each, and at SW19 they may have been looking on uneasily.
But then Swiatek was the one top 10 female player left by the last sixteen, so her romping to the title this week was hardly unexpected.
Emotions flowed for both Gauff (left) and Swiatek (right) during the ceremony at the end
Swiatek celebrates with compatriot and Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski
As Gauff remarked afterwards, she offers unique challenges: ‘I think probably the best thing she does is change direction really well on her shots,’ said the American, who will play in the doubles final on Sunday.
‘Compared to other players, you’re not used to seeing so many winners down the line. She does a good job with that and taking the ball early. On clay it’s difficult to do.
‘Her and Ash (the now retired Barty) are the hardest that I’ve played against. It probably looked like I was freaking out, but really it was just Iga was too good. I wasn’t freaking out.’
Gauff had no answers to the firepower coming at her, and started nervously to go 0-4 down. She briefly led in the second set when Swiatek’s level momentarily dipped, but nobody could have lived with the ripped forehands coming at her.
There was thunder overhead in the last game, which seemed an appropriate soundtrack to the blows coming off the Pole’s racket. Her superiority meant that the match would not extend long enough to be stopped for the rain that came down shortly afterwards.
RECAP: Here was Sportsmail’s live blog for Saturday afternoon’s French Open final between Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff and Roland Garros.
