Iga Swiatek invites Steffi Graf comparison with French Open rout – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Iga Swiatek expressed her gratitude for being likened to Steffi Graf, the 22-time Grand Slam champion, as the Polish world number one continued her impressive winning streak at the French Open, reaching 19 matches on Tuesday.

In a dominant display, Swiatek overwhelmed Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova with a scoreline of 6-0, 6-2, securing her place in the semi-finals and edging closer to a potential third consecutive Roland Garros title in Paris.

Her record at the French Open is now an impressive 33-2 across six appearances, and she is widely regarded as the favourite to reach another final. Swiatek has consistently outperformed her upcoming opponent, Coco Gauff, winning 10 out of their 11 encounters in straight sets.

As Swiatek sets her sights on becoming only the fourth woman in the Open era to claim four Roland Garros singles titles, she finds herself in the company of tennis legends Chris Evert, Justine Henin, and Steffi Graf, who achieved this remarkable feat and dominated the women’s game during the late 1980s and much of the 1990s.

Graf, now 54 years old, remains the last player to complete a calendar Grand Slam, a feat she accomplished in 1988 by winning all four major titles and securing the Olympic singles gold medal in the same year.

Swiatek’s recent performances have been reminiscent of Graf’s dominance, particularly her 6-0, 6-0 thrashing of Anastasia Potapova, which echoed Graf’s 32-minute demolition of Natasha Zvereva in the 1988 Roland Garros final.

“She’s a great champion, and, well, it’s just nice that anybody would compare me to her,” said Swiatek, who at one point won 20 consecutive games stretching across her last-16 and quarter-final ties.

“I don’t know her, but I feel like maybe she was kind of a similar person to me because she also likes to keep her privacy,” added Swiatek.

“I also heard from some people on tour that she was also kind of like an introvert, really in the zone and just focusing on tennis and what she wants to do.”

Swiatek’s performance against Vondrousova was a display of her increasing dominance on clay courts. The Polish player’s game continues to improve, which is a daunting prospect for her competitors.

“Getting better and better,” Swiatek remarked about her own play following the match. Vondrousova, seeded fifth and a finalist at Roland Garros in 2019, was overwhelmed by Swiatek’s masterful performance, unable to find a way to counter her opponent’s strategy.

“She’s I feel like way better than anyone else on clay, and especially here,” said Vondrousova.

“I feel like on the court you have nothing to, I don’t know, maybe offer or she’s just, you know, she’s just too strong here.

“I feel like you just go crazy every point.”

(With AFP inputs)