French Open: Iga Swiatek beats Elena Rybakina and extends her bid for a 4th title in a row

San Francisco Chronicle​

2 days ago

PARIS (AP) — Iga Swiatek turned things around at Roland-Garros after dropping eight of the first nine games against 12th-seeded Elena Rybakina in the fourth round Sunday, putting together a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory to extend her bid for a record fourth consecutive French Open championship.
The big-serving and hard-hitting Rybakina — who won Wimbledon in 2022 — got off to a stunning start, leading 5-0 after less than 20 minutes and grabbing 24 of the initial 32 points. She was responsible for 10 of the match's first 12 winners.
'I needed to do something to get back in the match and, honestly, with her playing like that, I didn't have a lot of hope,' Swiatek said afterward.
There was more of the same early in the second set. Swiatek double-faulted to close the first game, then turned to her team in the stands with her palms up and said something; soon she was down 2-0.
Iga Swiatek improved to 39-2 in her French Open career
That, though, is when Swiatek suddenly transformed back into what she's been so often in recent seasons, but not over the past 12 months: a seemingly invincible force on red clay who has won four of the past five titles at the French Open, where she is 39-2 for her career and unbeaten in her past 25 contests.
That certainly seemed in danger at the outset in Court Philippe-Chatrier, where Swiatek had trouble dealing with Rybakina's power and repeatedly was forced into errors. Given the rough stretch since June 2024 for Swiatek, a 23-year-old from Poland, maybe it would not have been entirely shocking for her to take a loss Sunday.
Swiatek hasn't reached a final in a year and is now No. 5 in the rankings
After all, Swiatek hasn't reached the final of any event since earning the trophy in Paris a year ago and has slid from No. 1 to No. 5 in the WTA rankings.
That rut includes a surprising exit in the semifinals at the 2024 Summer Olympics, which were contested at Roland-Garros; she ended up with the bronze medal. Then, later last season, she was banned for a total of one month after testing positive for a banned substance; her explanation was accepted that the result was unintentional and caused by a contaminated medicine.
On Tuesday, Swiatek will play No. 13 Elina Svitolina, a three-time major semifinalist but 0-4 in previous French Open quarterfinals.
Svitolina saved three match points earlier Sunday to get past 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1. All of the top eight women's seeds reached the fourth round; No. 4 Paolini was the first to exit.
Swiatek was almost the next, but she pulled out the tight win.
One key moment across the 2 1/2 hours that perhaps presaged Rybakina's unraveling came when she was a point away from a second break in the second set and had the chance to strike a forehand into an empty section of the court. Instead, she hit it right at Swiatek. When the ball came back over the net, Rybakina netted a jumping overhead.
Soon, Swiatek was playing better, imposing herself on groundstroke exchanges as she tends to, in part by moving closer to the baseline. Her returns became more effective as Rybakina's first-serve percentage dipped from 56% in the first set to 45% in the second and 43% in the third.
In the second set, Swiatek reeled off five straight games and, in one burst, 10 straight points.
What happened in the last set between Swiatek and Rybakina in Paris?
Still, not all was smooth sailing in the third for Swiatek. Not at all.
She faced three break points while trailing 3-2 but escaped from that predicament. After earning a break to lead 4-3, though, Swiatek gave it right back, double-faulting to allow Rybakina to make it 4-all.
In the next game, Swiatek appeared to have a break for a 5-4 edge when, on break point, Rybakina's second serve was ruled a fault. But chair umpire Kader Nouni overruled the line judge's out call. When Swiatek told him Rybakina didn't argue about the original ruling, Nouni replied: 'It's my responsibility to check it.'
It was one of several disputed calls in the third, and Rybakina eventually held there, and Swiatek held for 5-all, then claimed the last two games. When the match ended on her forehand winner, Swiatek yelled, rocked back on her heels and put her fist to her chest.