Iga Swiatek holds off Haddad Maia to reach a 3rd Roland Garros final!

 

   

World No.1 Iga Swiatek will play for her fourth Grand Slam title, and third at Roland Garros, in two days' time after beating No.14 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 7-6(7) in Thursday's second semifinal on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

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. On Saturday, she will face unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova, who saved a match point in a stirring 3 hour, 13-minute comeback against Swiatek's win, coupled with Sabalenka's defeat, also ensured that the Pole will retain the No.1 ranking after Roland Garros concludes, whatever the result against Muchova.

"I'm just pretty happy to be in the final again," Swiatek said afterwards. "It was a tough match, and especially 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.

"It wasn't easy, and Beatriz really played well. I'm just happy."

How the match was won: Though she improved to 12-0 in sets at the event with the 2 hour, 9-minute win, Swiatek came the closest she's come to being pushed the distance against Haddad Maia. She 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.o.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka.

Haddad Maia, who beat Swiatek in three sets on hard courts last summer in Toronto, was ahead 5-3 in the tiebreak and had a chance to extend the match at 6-5, but missed a forehand in the net at that juncture. The Brazilian, who won from a set down in the fourth round and quarterfinals to become the first woman from her country to reach the Roland Garros semifinals, had previously led 3-1 in the second set, and also had three break points against Swiatek's serve at 4-4.

"She's really using the fact that she's a lefty," Swiatek said. "She's really using her spin on the serve. It's just tactically a little bit different. You always have to kind of address and switch most of the things that you do on court because she's a lefty.

"I just knew that I can really use my power on clay and even make it physical if I need to."

Scouting Swiatek vs. Muchova: After turning around an 0-1 head-to-head against Haddad Maia, Swiatek will seek to do it against against Muchova. The Czech won their only prior meeting -- 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in Prague, four years ago -- when Swiatek was a 17-year-old ranked No.95 in the world.

"I played many practices with her since 2019, and I also watch her actually more than most of the players. Just a coincidence, but it happened," Swiatek said.

"I really like her game, honestly. I really respect her, and she's I feel like a player who can do anything. She has great touch. She can also speed up the game. She plays with that kind of freedom in her movements. And she has a great technique. So I watched her matches and I feel like I know her game pretty well.

"But obviously on matches, it's a little bit different and I'll be ready no matter what."

9 - Among players with 5+ clay courts finals in the Open Era, only Chris Evert (67.2%), Steffi Graf (58.9%) and Evonne Goolagong (57.1%) have a higher finals ratio on this surface than Iga Swiatek (56.3%, 9/16). Accumulator.

3 - Iga Swiatek is the fourth youngest female player in the Open Era to reach her third final at Roland-Garros, older only than Monica Seles, Steffi Graf and Chris Evert. Preciousness.

Iga Swiatek 2020 French Open: Reaches final without losing a set, dropping 23 games in six matches. Time on court: 7 hours Iga Swiatek 2023 French Open: Reaches final without losing a set, dropping 23 games in six matches. Time on court: 7 hours, 41 minutes.

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What a fantastic day of women's tennis this was. I am still digesting the first semi between Muchova/Sabalenka as epic as it gets!. 

A contender for match of the year that will be hard to beat.

With Iga my blood pressure sky rocketed about 10 times in that 2nd set breaker!. 

Haddad Maia almost managed to make it another epic 3 setter. 

Iga held firm mentally. 

It was a real battle of experience over nerves, and experience won (Hadded Maia had chances for set points and did have 1 set point towards the end as well as being a break up in both sets).

Who knows what would have happened had Hadded Maia won that 2nd set, but I'm glad we didn't have to find out!. The close tiebreaker was nerve-wrecking enough. 

So that's a 3rd final at Roland Garros for Iga in 4 years. Consistent excellence. 

I may have to petition to start calling this Slam Poland Garros :D 

Facing Muchova will be a totally different type of challenge for Iga than Sabalenka. For one thing they haven't played in 5 years. 

Could definitely come down to Iga's experience in finals once more (vs first Slam final for Muchova). 

But Karolina is a giant killer and is something like 5-0 vs top 3 so I never underestimate her and I expect this final to be tough. 

I've always loved watching Muchova play she's a breath of fresh air on the WTA. 

If it weren't for her career being constantly derailed by injuries, she would undoubtedly be in the top 10 and challenging for Grand Slams regularly.

One thing is for sure, if the final is anything like the semis we saw today, we'll all be in for a real treat!. 

Jazda Iga, see you Saturday!. 

Defending Champion Iga Swiatek back in Roland Garros semis

 

In a rematch of last year’s final, defending champion and World No.1 Iga Swiatek defeated No.6 seed Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 in their quarterfinal clash and returned to the Roland Garros semifinals.


Top-seeded Swiatek, the French Open champion in 2020 as well as last year, improved her head-to-head against Gauff to 7-0 (14-0 in sets) with her 1-hour and 28-minute victory on Court Philippe Chatrier on Wednesday.

Poland’s Swiatek has now won her last 12 matches on the clay courts of Paris. Her career win-loss record at Roland Garros improved to 26-2 with her latest win over American teenager Gauff.

"I'm pretty happy to be in the semifinal again of Roland Garros," Swiatek said in her post-match press conference. "It's a great achievement no matter how the tournament is going to finish. ... I'm really happy I can show consistency and just play good here every year."

In the semifinals, Swiatek will face No.14 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, who overcame No.7 seed Ons Jabeur earlier on Wednesday. Haddad Maia upset Swiatek in their only previous match, on the hard courts of Toronto last summer.

"For sure, [Haddad Maia is a] fighter, and she showed even today that she's fighting until the last ball, it pays off," Swiatek said. "You have to kind of be ready even when you feel like you're leading or whatever. You have to play every point 100 percent."

Holding on for now: Swiatek still has a chance to keep the World No.1 ranking coming out of Paris, despite defending 2000 ranking points and No.2 Aryna Sabalenka hot on her heels.

Since Sabalenka has reached the semifinals, Swiatek needs to beat Haddad Maia and reach the final to have a chance of staying at No.1. If Sabalenka reaches the final, Swiatek could hold on to No.1 only by winning the title.

By the numbers: With another victory on the terre battue in Paris, Swiatek becomes the first woman to win 12 consecutive main-draw matches at Roland Garros since Serena Williams won 13 straight between 2015 and 2016.

Swiatek, 22, is the fourth-youngest woman in the Open Era (since 1968) to win 12 or more main-draw matches in a row at Roland Garros. Only Monica Seles, Stefanie Graf and Chris Evert pulled off that feat at a younger age.

Swiatek is also the first woman to make three French Open semifinals in her first five main-draw appearances at the tournament since Martina Hingis between 1995 and 1999.

Key moments: Gauff, still seeking her first set against Swiatek, stayed close to the No.1 seed throughout most of the opening frame, battling back from a break down to 4-4. But Swiatek turned up the heat right at the end of the opener, breaking Gauff at love with a rally forehand winner.

"It was more tight in the first set, so I'm pretty happy in those important moments I was the one that was solid and could put a little more pressure on Coco," Swiatek said.

In the second set, Swiatek prevented Gauff from taking an early lead by fending off three break points during a gritty hold for 2-1. Swiatek cracked the set open when a deft lob gave her a break for 4-2, and the Pole held on from there to claim another triumph over Gauff.

Swiatek won 75 percent of her second-service points in the match, while Gauff won slightly less than half of the points behind her own second delivery. Each player had five break points, but Swiatek converted four of hers while Gauff only broke serve once.

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And to think I was more worried about Ons Jabeur. Guess I should have been more worried about the woman who beat her on the hardcourts of Toronto last year. 

I still believe that Iga on clay will be a whole different proposition for Haddad Maia and she won't let herself be bossed around or give her too many chances. 

Many are saying that the time on court won't make a difference since Bia managed to beat Jabeur easily after an almost 4 hour marathon a few days prior (the longest match on tour this year), but I disagree. 

I think the fact that Bia has spent over 12 hours and court and Iga about 5 and a half might play a huge factor especially if Iga is able to make it physical. 

I also think nerves will play a big part tomorrow with Haddad Maia. 

This will be her first major semi final and Iga has been there and done that so she'll know how to handle it better and just take her opportunities when they come. 

I would like to say I'll be happy with just a semi final result after all it'd still be amazing, but I'd be lying. Now that we're so close I want Iga to go all the way. I will be cheering my hardest tomorrow. 

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek easily through 4th Roland Garros quarterfinal courtesy of ailing opponent

 

World No.1 Iga Swiatek moved into the Roland Garros quarterfinals for the fourth straight year after an ailing Lesia Tsurenko retired from their fourth-round match on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Tsurenko was trailing 5-1 in the opening set when she stopped play.


"I have something like Rybakina had, a virus or whatever it is," Tsurenko said afterwards. "My body could not handle it. I did everything possible to manage it, but unfortunately, it's a different thing just to do normal things and play tennis.


"I could not practice yesterday. ... It was tough for me to warm up, but I was hoping for just starting match and maybe I would feel a little bit better. But, unfortunately, it was getting worse, so I had to stop because it was not the way I wanted to be on court and to play tennis for sure."

Swiatek streak continues: "It's not nice to finish a match like that," Swiatek said in her post-match press conference. "So I hope Lesia is going to be okay and she'll recover quickly."


Despite the shortened performance on Monday, defending champion Swiatek has won her 11th straight match at the French Open. Swiatek, the titlist in 2020 as well as last year, is up to 25-2 at the tournament throughout her career.

"I don't want to take this for granted, because I know every tournament is a different story," Swiatek said. "We all can kind of have really tough opponents even in the first or second round and struggle, because, as well, the beginnings of the tournaments are sometimes tough.

"But I just feel pretty solid here [at Roland Garros]. I'm happy that I'm in a quarterfinal, and every year I'm gonna do my best to always reach these stages or even more so."

Gauff next up: In the quarterfinals, Swiatek will face No.6 seed Coco Gauff in a rematch of last year’s Roland Garros final. Gauff ousted Anna Karolina Schmiedlova earlier on Monday to return to the quarterfinals in Paris. Swiatek has won all six of her previous meetings with Gauff in straight sets.

It will be the second time in the Open Era (since 1968) that there will be a French Open final rematch in the following year's quarterfinals. Chris Evert beat Virginia Ruzici in the 1980 French Open final, and Evert won the rematch in the 1981 quarterfinals as well.

No.1 still in play: Swiatek is still in contention to retain her World No.1 ranking coming out of Paris, but Aryna Sabalenka could also take the top ranking for the first time before the fortnight ends:

Since Sabalenka has reached the quarterfinals, Swiatek needs to reach the semifinals to have a chance of staying No.1.

If Sabalenka reaches the semifinals, then Swiatek would need to reach the final to have a chance of staying at No.1.

If Sabalenka reaches the final, Swiatek could hold on to No.1 only by winning the title.

With Swiatek and Sabalenka both in the elite eight, this is the first year since 2013 that the No.1 and No.2 seeds have advanced to the Roland Garros quarterfinals.

Match review: Swiatek of Poland came into Monday's fourth-round encounter with a 2-0 record over Ukraine's Tsurenko. Swiatek had beaten Tsurenko by identical 6-2, 6-0 score lines two times on clay, in the first round of last year's French Open and earlier this year in Rome.

Swiatek started play on Court Lenglen by taking a commanding 4-0 lead before Tsurenko got on the board with a service break. However, directly after that game, Tsurenko was seen by the physio, where she was evaluated and had her blood pressure checked.

Former Top 25 player Tsurenko, a quarterfinalist at the 2018 US Open, came back on court for one more game. But after dropping serve, Tsurenko deemed herself unable to continue, and action ended after 31 minutes.

92.6% - Only Margaret Court (95.2%) now has a higher winning ratio at Roland-Garros in the Open Era than Iga Swiatek (92.6%) - surpassing Chris Evert (92.3%). Park.

60 - In the last 50 years, only Monica Seles (63) and Chris Evert (66) have played fewer clay courts matches than Iga Swiatek (69) to reach 60 wins in this surface. Dusting.

4/5 - Iga Swiatek is the first female player to make 4+ quarterfinals at the Roland-Garros in her first five main draw appearances at the event since Monica Seles (5/5, in 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1996). Home.

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Hoping and praying that whatever virus Tsurenko had stays away from Iga. 

Hoping it's not the dreaded one we've been battling the past 3 years in a Pandemic. 

Sort of wish Iga hadn't hugged Tsurenko at the net. 

Handshake would have been the safer option.

A 7th meeting with Coco Gauff for a place in the semis. 

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek steamrolls into round of 16 at Roland Garros

Defending champion and top seed Iga Swiatek swept into the Round of 16 at Roland Garros with a dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory over 80th-ranked Wang Xinyu on Court Philippe Chatrier on Saturday.

Swiatek needed only 51 minutes to dismiss Wang in their first match at the tour-level. Swiatek had edged Wang in their two close meetings during their junior careers, but this time around, Swiatek cruised to a win.

Swiatek, the champion in 2020 as well as last year, has won her past 10 matches at Roland Garros and is 24-2 throughout her career at the tournament.

Swiatek's fourth-round opponent will be former Top 25 player Lesia Tsurenko, who stormed past 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu 6-1, 6-1 on Court Simonne Mathieu in just 62 minutes.

Swiatek leads her head-to-head with Tsurenko 2-0, with both wins coming on clay by matching 6-2, 6-0 score lines. Swiatek beat Tsurenko in the first round here at Roland Garros last year, and she replicated that victory just last month in Rome.

Swiatek speaks: After Saturday's win over Wang, Swiatek said she was most happy with "the way I kept my focus throughout the whole match. Just the fact that I know I keep feeling better and better every day, and that's kind of what I wanted to achieve in this tournament.

"I'm glad that I kind of feel the rhythm a little bit better on every match. I'm just happy that I was disciplined till the end."

On a roll: After winning her first two matches this week by identical 6-4, 6-0 score lines, Swiatek had an even easier time of it against Wang. Swiatek brings a comprehensive 19-game winning streak into the next round.

Swiatek, who will feature in Part 2 of Netflix's "Break Point," never faced a break point Saturday, and she fired 21 winners to Wang's three. Wang was contesting her first third-round match at a Grand Slam event, but after the double bagel, she fell to 0-3 against Top 10 players in her career.

Swiatek is still in the hunt to retain her World No.1 ranking coming out of Paris. Swiatek needs to reach at least the quarterfinals to have any chance of maintaining her hold on the top ranking.

Tsurenko rolls on: Later on Saturday, Ukraine's Tsurenko went 6-for-6 on break points in her match, and she had 20 winners to just six by Andreescu. Tsurenko is now into the French Open Round of 16 for the second time in her career (also 2018).

The 34-year-old continues to have a resurgent 2023 after suffering numerous injuries over the past decade. Tsurenko has more than halved her ranking since the start of this year, from No.137 to her current position of No.66.

If Tsurenko can get her first win over Swiatek on Monday, she will match her career-best showing at a Grand Slam, which was a quarterfinal result at the 2018 US Open.

 wtatennis.com

This is one impressive win. I know she has done it before but it's quite something to do it at a Grand Slam. Just extraordinary. 

I honestly have to wonder whether on some subconscious level Iga really loosened up after hearing of Rybakina's withdrawal from the tournament with a viral illness. 

But more likely it's just Iga feeling more comfortable on the court as I said she would be with more time spent on it.

3 - Iga Swiatek is the 3rd women’s player to register four 6-0 sets in the first three rounds of the Roland-Garros in the Open Era after Mary Pierce in 1994 and Martina Navratilova in 1985. Champion.

1 - Iga Swiatek has her first 6-0 6-0 scoreline at a Grand Slam event. It's the fourth in the women's singles at Roland-Garros in the past decade and the first since Caroline Wozniacki defeated Francoise Abanda in 2017. Benchmark.

Defending Champion Iga Swiatek eases into Roland Garros 3rd round

One day after her 22nd birthday, defending champion Iga Swiatek booked safe passage into the third round of Roland Garros on Thursday, as the World No.1 from Poland defeated 102nd-ranked Claire Liu of the United States 6-4, 6-0.

"I was able to play a little bit better in the second set, and I kind of used first set to get more information and get into the rhythm, but Claire played pretty well," Swiatek said afterwards. "I'm happy that I'm into the third round and I have a chance to play more matches here."

Swiatek was joined in the third round by 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada, who bested American wildcard Emma Navarro 6-1, 6-4 in 1 hour and 9 minutes. If both Swiatek and Andreescu win their third-round matches, they would meet in the Round of 16.

Here are some key numbers surrounding Swiatek and Andreescu's wins:

30: Top seed Swiatek earned her 30th match-win of the year by defeating Liu in 1 hour and 29 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier. Swiatek is currently tied with Elena Rybakina for the second-most match-wins on tour in 2023; only Aryna Sabalenka has won more matches this season (31).


3: Swiatek, who will star in Part 2 of Netflix's Break Point, picked up her third win in three meetings with Liu, and her second victory over the American this year. This March, Swiatek claimed a 6-0, 6-1 win over Liu at Indian Wells.


92: Swiatek, the Roland Garros champion in 2020 and 2022, now has a 23-2 win-loss record at the tournament. Her 92.0% winning percentage at this event is the third-best in the Open Era (since 1968), behind only Margaret Court (95.2%) and Chris Evert (92.3%).

37: Swiatek is also up to 37-1 against players ranked outside the Top 50 in Grand Slam play. Her only Grand Slam loss to a player ranked lower than No.50 was to Viktorija Golubic in the first round of 2019 Wimbledon.

24: On Thursday, Swiatek saw a double-break lead at 3-0 in the first set disappear as Liu pulled back to parity at 3-3. However, Swiatek cranked a forehand return winner to break again for a 4-3 lead, and she took the opener from there. All told, Swiatek captured the last seven games of the clash, with her 24 winners doubling Liu's 12.

2-0: Swiatek will face China’s Wang Xinyu in the third round, after 80th-ranked Wang defeated Sweden’s Rebecca Peterson 7-6(5), 6-2 on Thursday. This will be their first tour-level meeting, but Swiatek went 2-0 against Wang in the juniors, including a narrow win in the 2018 Junior Wimbledon semifinals.

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Bit untidy but she's only human. 

We're so used to Iga bulldozing everyone that when it doesn't happen it's a shock. She still won the 2nd set 6-0. She won both matches by an identical score line in fact.

She didn't play anywhere near her best at U.S. Open and won that even though hardcourt is her 2nd best surface. 

So no need for concern or over reaction from the media and fans. 

Iga is just warming up. The more time she spends on court the better she'll get. 

That's what champions do. 

Iga Swiatek celebrates 22nd Birthday at Roland Garros

I don't know about you, but Iga Swiatek is feelin' 22. The defending Roland Garros champion had a sparkling birthday celebration on Wednesday in Paris, complete with an impressive birthday cake that wouldn't have looked out of place in the window of one of Paris' best patisseries.


Swiatek was served an impressive treat, topped with fresh cream, strawberries and sparklers, and gifted a bag with presents from tournament director Amélie Mauresmo, as staff serenaded her with a rousing rendition of 'Happy Birthday.'

It's been a tradition for the Polish star to celebrate her birthday each in Paris since her first appearance as a junior in 2016—not counting her breakthrough triumph in 2020, when it was moved to October.

Swiatek later reflected on her 'Taylor Swift year' in an Instagram post, where skier Lindsey Vonn and Paula Badosa, who was forced to withdraw from Roland Garros with a back injury, were among those to send her birthday greetings.

"I see you, I see your kind words. Thank you so much," Swiatek wrote, underneath a photo of her as a little girl with (another) big birthday cake.

In her first match as a 22-year-old, Swiatek will face American Claire Liu in the second round of Roland Garros on Court Philippe-Chatrier Thursday.

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Iga Swiatek nearing 22 years old and eyeing elite tennis company

It was approaching dinner time in Paris and the shadows were creeping across Court Philippe Chatrier. And Iga Swiatek was, uncharacteristically, flustered. Cristina Bucsa, playing an uber-aggressive return position, broke her twice in the first five games.

Returning at 4-all, the No.70-ranked Spaniard actually wrangled a break point that would have left her serving for the first set against the defending Roland Garros champion. Order, however, was swiftly restored -- as it often is with Swiatek -- and she settled into a 6-4, 6-0 victory Tuesday.

And so, at this very moment, in the major scheme of things, Swiatek stands alone among women’s tennis players.

Because of a remarkable and unpredictable series of events, Swiatek is the only woman currently active and playing a full schedule to have won three Grand Slam singles titles.

Serena Williams, along with her 23 major titles, retired last fall. Venus Williams (seven majors) is 42 and played two matches back in January. Naomi Osaka (four) is expecting the birth of her first child and hopes to return to the Hologic WTA Tour in 2024. Angelique Kerber (three) is eyeing a comeback after giving birth to a daughter in February.

Ashleigh Barty (three) retired last year at the age of 25 and is expecting her first child. Victoria Azarenka and Petra Kvitova, both 33, have won two majors, as have Garbine Muguruza and Simona Halep. Eight active players have won a single Grand Slam singles crown.

That makes Swiatek the boss of women’s tennis. She’s won three of the past 11 contested Grand Slam events and is the clear-cut favorite to win her fourth at Roland Garros. She is one of only three women born in the 2000s to win a major -- and Bianca Andreescu and Emma Raducanu are still looking for their second.

Swiatek, born 17 months into the 21st century, turns 22 on Wednesday. That’s a typical age for a college graduate.

“I have so much respect for Iga,” said Barbora Krejcikova, who won the Roland Garros title the one time Swiatek didn’t over the past three years. “She’s what -- 21, 22? When I was 21, I was in diapers. Like tennis-wise, in diapers.

“And she’s dominating. It’s unbelievable.”

Four majors wouldn’t put her in super-elite company, but it would place her in a nice neighborhood that includes Osaka, Kim Clijsters and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. Five? That would be impressive Martina Hingis and Maria Sharapova real estate.

Martina Navratilova has been watching. She won 18 Grand Slam singles titles but was a relatively late bloomer, winning her third at the 1981 Australian Open at the age of 24. The fourth came in 1982 at Roland Garros. She was 25.

“Look, Iga’s further ahead than most at her age,” Navratilova said before the tournament. “In every way: rankings-wise, majors-wise and maturity. She seems very put together. She’s struggled with confidence over the years, but she always seems to overcome it in the end.”

Swiatek, who will also feature in Part 2 of Netflix's "Break Point," reached seven ITF finals at the beginning of her professional career -- and won them all. At the age of 17, she was the unseeded winner of the Wimbledon junior event on a surface she still struggles to command. In her first year on the Hologic WTA Tour, at the age of 18, she reached the fourth round at Roland Garros (losing to Halep) and finished No.61 at year’s end. In 2020, as an unseeded teenager, she won her first French Open title.

Today, she’s riding a 62-week run as the No.1-ranked player. She hasn’t been as dominant as last year -- Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have closed the gap -- but Swiatek has been pretty good. She’s third in the Race to the WTA Finals and with her win over Bucsa on Tuesday, she's a sporty 29-6 this year. She’s won 19 of her past 20 matches at Roland Garros and 41 of 45 on clay.

But … if Swiatek doesn’t at least reach the quarterfinals in Paris, Sabalenka will move past her to No.1. Swiatek (8,940 ranking points) is defending 2,000 points this fortnight, while Sabalenka (7,541) defends only 310.

This is the first tournament in over a year where it’s possible she could lose the No.1 ranking.

“Well,” Swiatek said when informed of this at her pre-tournament press conference, “I didn’t even know about that. No problem. It doesn’t change a lot for me.”

That exchange underlined the attitude that has sustained Swiatek for so long on top. As the numbers and the accolades pile up, she doesn’t seem all that impressed -- freeing her up to produce the very numbers and accolades that come with them.

Swiatek’s path isn’t easy, although one serious impediment was removed when Lesia Tsurenko upset 13th-seeded Krejcikova in the first round. If the seeds hold, she could face Bianca Andreescu in the fourth round, Coco Gauff (quarterfinals), Rybakina or Ons Jabeur in the semifinals and Sabalenka in the final.

And although Swiatek’s the player of the moment, she seems positioned to play the long game. With coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, psychologist Daria Abramowicz and fitness coach Maciej Ryszczuk, she has a dedicated, intelligent team around her. And, perhaps just as important, Swiatek is willing to listen to their advice.

“Being this young,” Navratilova said, “she’s still absorbing a lot of knowledge about the game. And playing more by instinct. I mean, there’s still room for improvement.”

A victory in Paris likely will spark the intriguing how-many-majors-will-she-win conversation.

Some more major context: Osaka won her third Grand Slam singles title at 22, her fourth at 23. Sharapova collected her third at age 20, but was 25 and 27 when she won her fourth and fifth. Venus Williams already had four before she turned 22; three more Wimbledon titles came at 25, 27 and 29. Back in the day, Hingis won all five before she turned 19.

“Swiatek's got a pretty good head start, I would say, if she can keep it up physically and emotionally,” Navratilova said. “She’s playing more like a 24-, 25-year-old.

“It’s a little more open than it was this time last year. We had a pretty good idea Iga was going to be the year-end top-ranked player. Talk to me at the end of this year, but I think she’s still looking pretty good.”

Happy 22nd birthday, Iga. Many happy returns.

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