Paris – After her second triumph at the French Open, Iga Swiatek received congratulations from a surprise guest.
Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski sat in the stands behind the Polish player’s support team at Court Philippe Chatrier and hugged his compatriot. The 21-year-old world number one looked in disbelief when she saw the football star. Earlier, she had continued her super series against the American Coco Gauff and won the clay court classic in Paris for the 35th time in a row.
When the Polish national anthem was played, Swiatek burst into tears. Tears welled up in the eyes of the Polish tennis dominator after winning the French Open for the second time. The world number one won the final against the American Coco Gauff 6:1, 6:3 and celebrated the second Grand Slam title of her career. The Pole had already won the clay court classic at the Bois de Boulogne in 2020. At the time, she was without spectators due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Swiatek needed only 68 minutes to win against Gauff after an outstanding performance. It was her 35th victory in a row. The last time she lost a match was in Dubai in mid-February. It is the third-longest winning streak in women’s tennis since 1990. Only Martina Hingis (37) and Monica Seles (36) have achieved more successes in this period. The record in the history of professional tennis is held by Martina Navratilova with 74 victories in a row.
“I can’t really believe it yet,” said Swiatek, who fell to her knees after converting match point and then ran to her support team in the stands. “The pressure was very big. But I worked hard to stand here again.” As she handed over the trophy, Swiatek also thought of the people in Ukraine affected by Russia’s war of aggression. “Hang in there, the war is still there,” she said. The 15,000 spectators on the Court Philippe Chatrier applauded standing for a long time afterwards. Swiatek had played with a small Ukraine flag on her slider cap throughout the tournament.
Lewandowski and Schweinsteiger in the stands
She was also cheered on from the stands by her compatriot Robert Lewandowski. The Bayern striker, who is keen to change clubs, watched the final from the stands, as did former world champion Bastian Schweinsteiger and his wife Ana Ivanovic.
Gauff acknowledged the triumph of the currently all-dominant Pole without envy. “What you have achieved in the past weeks and months is unbelievable,” said the American. “I hope that we play many more Grand Slam finals against each other and then I can also leave the court as a winner one day.”
Gauff at least has another chance at a title in the doubles on Sunday. She and her compatriot Jessica Pegula will then meet the two French players Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.
Angelique Kerber was the last German to be eliminated in the third round at the second Grand Slam tournament of the season. The French Open thus remains the only Grand Slam tournament that the German number one has not won so far.
Swiatek wins title with aplomb
Gauff started extremely nervously in the first Grand Slam final of her career. Swiatek quickly raced to a 4-0 lead and it took 23 minutes for Gauff to celebrate her first game win. Loud shouts of “Coco, Coco” echoed across Centre Court. However, the point win was not a sign of a possible turnaround. Only nine minutes later, Swiatek made the win of the first section perfect. In the second set, Gauff started a bit more courageously and even took the serve from the big favourite. She pulled away to 2:0, but then the Pole got serious again and took the title.
Gauff will nevertheless go down in history as a winner of this year’s French Open. With her refreshing press conferences and her important political statements on the issue of gun violence in her US home country, Gauff provided performances that will be remembered.