Iga Swiatek |
If anyone doubts Iga Swiatek’s intent to win the French Open for a 4th time, her demolition of 5th-seeded Marketa Vondrousova on Tuesday will have put these to rest.
I’m happy that my game is getting better and better every day, and I [felt] pretty confident today. I try not to really focus on the scores. Sometimes I even forget what the score is, honestly. Just, you know, focusing, I mean, I’m keeping myself busy in terms of thinking about technique and tactics, and what I would do with the next point. Because of that, I don’t really get myself, allow myself to have time to drift off, and think about other stuff.
The World No 1 delivered yet another bagel as she dispatched the Czech left-hander, who is the reigning Wimbledon champion and a former Roland Garros finalist to boot, 6-0 6-2 in 62 minutes.
“I felt, like, I was in the zone,” Swiatek said. “Everything worked!”
Vondrousova is a Grand Slam champion, and reached the final here in 2019, while she also has won a silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and currently is ranked No 6 in the world, but, in truth, she never stood a chance against Swiatek, who compiled 25 winners to just 10 unforced errors in the encounter.
The 23-year old Pole said the match was ‘probably, the best performance I have had here’, heady words for a player who has lost just 8 games since saving a match point in the 3rd set of her 2nd-round win over another Grand Slam champion, Naomi Osaka, from Japan.
Swiatek extended her unbeaten run at Roland Garros to 19 matches, and in her forthcoming semi-final against Coco Gauff, she looks to advance to the final for the 4th time in 6 appearances in Paris, and for the 3rd year in a row.
“I’m happy that my game is getting better and better every day, and I [felt] pretty confident today,” Swiatek said after her quarter-final against Vondrousova.
“I try not to really focus on the scores.“Sometimes I even forget what the score is, honestly. Just, you know, focusing, I mean, I’m keeping myself busy in terms of thinking about technique and tactics, and what I would do with the next point. Because of that, I don’t really get myself, allow myself to have time to drift off, and think about other stuff.
Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova could only muster 2 games against Iga Swiatek in Tuesday’s quarter-finals at Roland Garros
She was flawless again on Tuesday, extending her unbeaten record against Vondrousova to 4-0 with a dominant performance in which she struck 25 winners, broke serve 5 times, and swatted away the only break point she faced.
Swiatek has never lost a set to Vondrousova in all of their matches, and 4 of the 8 they have played have been either 6-0 or 6-1.
After dropping just 10 points in her 6-0 6-0 dispatch of Potapova, Swiatek extended her run of consecutive games won this year in Paris to 20, before Vondrousova held in her first service game of the second set.
The Czech had held 2 game points in the 4th game of the opener, a 6-deuce affair in which Swiatek eventually broke for a second time on her 5th chance.
Vondrousova’s only window of opportunity to take a lead came at 1-1 in the second set, when a forehand winner gave her a break point at 30-40 after initially leading 0-30, but Swiatek swept it aside with a pinpoint backhand winner.
“She’s, I feel, like, way better than anyone else on clay, and especially here,” Vondrousova said later. “It’s very tough. I feel, like, on the court, you have nothing to, maybe, offer. She’s just too strong here.”
Astonishingly, the Pole committed fewer errors, 31, in her last 3 matches than she did against Osaka, 32.
Swiatek has won 10 of her 11 prior matches with Gauff, including all 4 they have played on clay, and, in their two previous Roland Garros matches, the 2022 final and the 2023 quarter-finals, the Pole lost just 10 games.
“It’s good to just keep going, and not think about this match as something huge—just another match—to not put too much baggage on your shoulders,” Swiatek said. “But I guess Coco is not easy. She really likes playing on clay, especially here. I’ll just focus on myself and I’ll prepare tactically and we’ll see.”
Last month, Swiatek also won a 6-4 6-3 semi-final against Gauff en route to the Italian Open title. Coco Gauff needed all her athleticism to get past Ons Jabeur in 3 sets and will meet Iga Swiatek in Thursday’s semi-final
Gauff also is having a successful run at Roland Garros, in both singles and doubles.
On Tuesday, the World No 3 came from behind to defeat 3-time major finalist Ons Jabeur, 4-6 6-2 6-3, and reach the semi-finals at a 3rd consecutive Grand Slam tournament.
“I’ve been trying to do better at being consistent in the big tournaments,” Gauff said, “And I’m reaching that level of consistency.”
Gauff, who was runner-up to Swiatek here in 2022, won her first major title at the US Open last September, then made it to the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January..
“I definitely think I have to find a better way to play her than the last times I played on clay, because I’ve obviously been unsuccessful the last couple of times we’ve played—regardless of the surface and anything,” Gauff admitted. “She’s definitely a tough opponent for me. And for anybody.”
Against Jabeur, the 8th seed from Tunisia, Gauff pulled away to lead 5-2 in the last set, then needed a trio of match points to close things out, acknowledging afterwards that she grew a little tight.
In that last game, the 20-year old American saved a break point, before Jabeur dismissed a match point with a signature, well-disguised drop-shot that brought a roar from the stands, prompting the 29-year-old to put a finger to her ear.
Gauff’s next chance, though, sealed the win when Jabeur badly fluffed an overhead, and the American smiled in relief as she raised her arms and yelled.
“My favourite thing about Coco is her fighting spirit,” Jabeur said later. “I think she’s playing, like, great tennis right now, but I saw her playing better before. Obviously she’s such a fighter. She always tries to find ways. She’s really smart on the court.”
Jabeur was looking for a ‘deep run’ in Paris after her 1st-round win, despite coming into the tournament with a negative season record of 6 wins to 9 losses, and was bidding for her first Roland Garros semi-final.
The opening set held promise when, at 3-3, the Tunisian pulled off a drop-shot return, a jumping backhand winner down the line, and a drop shot-pass combination to break Gauff for the first time.She followed that by a lightning-quick hold, comprising 3 clean winners, to consolidate, and then finished the set off with an ace, firing 12 winners to 10 unforced errors.
Jabeur had been superb, never facing a single break point, and delivered her 114 mph ace to end the set, nodding repeatedly to the delight of the assembled crowd.
“She’s a tough opponent, and she’s well-loved on tour,” Gauff said on court afterwards. “I could tell by the crowd today—I know you guys wanted her to win. Honestly, whenever she’s not playing [me], I cheer for her, too.”
In the 3rd game of the second set, she pushed Gauff to 2 deuces, but, on the final point, bailed out with an attempted smash from way behind the baseline that could…
