Teenager Swiatek clinches French Open title

Unseeded and ranked merely 54th, Swiatek grabbed the last six games to beat American Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-1 in the women’s singles final at Roland Garros here on Saturday, becoming the first Polish tennis player to win a Grand Slam singles trophy. “It is crazy. Two years ago, I won a junior Grand Slam, and right now, I am here. It feels like such a short time,” Swiatek said, her voice cracking.

“I am just overwhelmed.” This was, after all, only her seventh major tournament; she had never been past the fourth round. But the way she played the last two weeks made this outcome less of a surprise. Swiatek is the first woman to triumph in Paris without ceding a set since Justine Henin in 2007.

She is the first teen to win the women’s singles title at the French Open since Iva Majoli in 1997. And, Swiatek did it with victories over opponents such as 2018 champion Simona Halep and 2019 runner-up Marketa Vondrousova. So it made sense that Swiatek would be able to get past Kenin. American Kenin was 16-1 in Grand Slam matches until Saturday. But she dealt with a leg issue in the second set.

At the changeover after the third game of the second set, Kenin was visited by a trainer and went off the court for a medical timeout, then returned with her left thigh wrapped. Kenin said after her fourth-round match on Monday that she had slipped and maybe pulled something during practice the day before.

While Kenin was gone, Swiatek tried to stay warm by pulling on a white jacket and hitting some serves, earning applause from the spectators. When play resumed, Swiatek needed only 12 more minutes to wrap up the victory, finishing with a 25-10 edge in winners.

Djokovic, Nadal to battle it out in dream final: 

Novak Djokovic faces clay court king Rafael Nadal in a dream French Open final here on Sunday, with a lot at stake for the world’s two top-ranked players apart from another Grand Slam title.

In one of the sport’s greatest rivalries, Djokovic and Nadal have clashed 55 times with the Serbian leading 29-26. But when it comes to clay, there has never been anybody better than 12-time Roland Garros champion Nadal, who has defeated Djokovic in six of their seven clashes at the French major, including the 2012 and 2014 finals.

Djokovic, however, won their last meeting at the French Open in 2015 when he beat the Spaniard in the quarter-finals. The winner in Paris will also nudge ahead in their duel in Grand Slam finals contested between the pair, with Djokovic and Nadal having won four times each.

Also on the line will be the battle to be considered as the ‘Greatest of All Time’. Djokovic was expected to arrive in Paris with 18 Grand Slams under his belt by winning last month’s US Open in New York, which Nadal skipped due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

But the 33-year-old was disqualified in his fourth-round match at Flushing Meadows when he inadvertently hit a line judge with the ball. Nadal is one behind Roger Federer’s haul of 20 majors. A 13th French Open title on Sunday would therefore bring him level with the Swiss, leaving Djokovic three adrift.