MY ACCOUNT
Iga Swiatek stretched her incredible winning run to 35 matches by beating Coco Gauff in straight sets to regain the French Open title.
The ruthless world number one outclassed Gauff on Court Philippe-Chatrier, beating the 18-year-old American 6-1 6-3 in only 68 minutes.
Swiatek, 21, was relentless at Roland Garros on Saturday, winning her second grand slam title two years after claiming her first in Paris.
The top seed was broken for the only time at the start of the second set, but otherwise hardly put a foot wrong and won six games in a row to get her hands on the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen again after winning a sixth consecutive tournament.
Gauff, the 18th seed, could still win a maiden major title when she teams up with Jessica Pegula in the women’s doubles final on Sunday.
A nervy Gauff was broken in the first game when she drilled a forehand long, with an aggressive Swiatek consolidating that break courtesy of a rasping forehand winner after a great serve.
The teenager was struggling with her forehand and made a string of errors as the composed Swiatek secured a double break for a 3-0 lead.
There was a big cheer for Gauff when she held to get on the board at 4-1, but Swiatek continued to dictate with her excellent serve, power, precision and athleticism, raising her fist after a majestic forehand winner put her a game away from winning the first set.
Swiatek had the set wrapped up in only 32 minutes when Gauff put a backhand wide after another glorious backhand winner from the top seed.
Gauff was not feeling sorry for herself and had a first break in the opening game of the second set as the favourite fired a forehand into the tramlines.
She was unable to build on that strong start to the set, putting a forehand wide after a double fault to ensure Swiatek was back on serve at 2-1.
The momentum was firmly with Swiatek as Gauff continued to make too many errors, winning six games in a row to take the title, with her opponent firing a return long to end a one-sided final.
Data slam: The joy of six for Swiatek
Swiatek is simply unstoppable at the moment. She is 9-1 in finals and has not lost a championship match in over three years – winning the last nine finals she has played in.
In a week in which she celebrated her birthday, Swiatek became the sixth player to win her first two finals at Roland Garros in the Open Era. Margaret Court, Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Justine Henin and Serena Williams also achieved that feat.
Swiatek is only the second player in the 2000s to win six titles in the first six months of the year after Williams also did so in 2013. She has also matched Venus Williams’ record of 35 consecutive wins, the longest streak by a female player in the 2000s.
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Swiatek – 18/16
Gauff – 14/23
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Swiatek – 1/0
Gauff – 2/3
BREAK POINTS WON
Swiatek – 5/10
Gauff – 1/1
