Iga Swiatek stages stunning comeback to reach French Open quarter-finals

Irish Times

3 days ago

After another sad second serve rebounded off the top of the net and floated out on a break point,
Iga Swiatek
turned to her support team and frantically gestured her rage. She had simply not shown up. As Elena Rybakina bulldozed through the early stages of their highly anticipated fourth-round tussle at the
French Open
, Swiatek trailed 6-1, 2-0 and her hopes of victory were fading.
For much of this year, Swiatek has struggled to find her form when forced into difficult positions against her toughest rivals. However, she showed her resilience here with a supreme 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 statement win against 12th-seed Rybakina, to return to the quarter-finals.
Five years since her first French Open title, Swiatek's era of dominance at Roland Garros now stands at 25 consecutive victories, the longest winning run among female players in the 21st century. This win could have a transformative effect on her confidence as she tries to shake off her difficult run of form and recover her self-belief, in her bid to become the first woman in history to win the French Open singles title four times in a row.
'I think I needed that kind of win to feel these feelings that I'm able to win under pressure, and even if it's not going the right way, still turn the match around to win it,' Swiatek said. 'For sure it's a great confirmation for me. I for sure wanted to have a match like that. Obviously it's great to also have full control over the match, but against great players, it's not always going to be possible. I'm happy that I fought, and I also problem-solved on court.'
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Although she avoided a fourth-round meeting with her nemesis Jelena Ostapenko, who holds a 6-0 record against the five-time Grand Slam champion, Swiatek still found herself up against one of her toughest rivals. Rybakina's own recent struggles are reflected in her seeding of No 12. At her best, however, the 2022 Wimbledon champion is one of the top four players in the world.
With her precise, destructive serve and the effortless power she generates with her groundstrokes, Rybakina's game also matches up extremely well against Swiatek's. Rybakina played flawless attacking tennis for 45 minutes as she established a set and break lead: 'In the first set it felt like I was playing Jannik Sinner,' Swiatek said afterwards.
Despite her high-profile difficulties this year, Swiatek has still been more consistent than the vast majority of the tour this year. Her problems have usually arisen against the best players. When she has been pushed by quality players, she has often become overwhelmed by her own doubts. This time, she continued to think clearly under pressure.
From 6-1, 2-0 down, Swiatek gradually worked her way back into the match, particularly using her heavy topspin forehand to force Rybakina back and drag her out wide on her forehand side. Swiatek also opted to take a deeper return position, a significant departure on her usual position close to the baseline, which allowed her more time to return Rybakina's imperious serve. After working through numerous tight games early on, Swiatek established greater momentum and forced a third set.
In a tense final set that followed, there were numerous tight moments. Swiatek boldly saved three break points at 2-3, then after finally breaking serve to lead 4-3, she handed the momentum back with another double fault. No matter, in the most consequential match of the tournament so far, which would have been a worthy final, Swiatek played positive attacking tennis under immense pressure until the end. Instead of allowing the tension to overwhelm her, she searched for solutions until she found them.
Swiatek next faces the 13th seed Elina Svitolina, who produced a brilliant comeback victory herself on a spectacular day in the women's draw. Despite facing three match points, Svitolina recovered to defeat Jasmine Paolini, the fourth seed and last year's runner-up, to reach her fifth quarter-final in Paris. Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, will play against Zheng Qinwen in the other quarter-final after defeating Amanda Anisimova 7-5, 6-3. – Guardian