PARIS: Iga Swiatek is so efficient, so smooth, with a racket in her hand, seemingly never flustered a bit and, for months now, never beaten.
The only time she looked even the slightest bit shaken Saturday at Court Philippe Chatrier was after her 6-1, 6-3 victory against Coco Gauff in the final was finished, pushing the No.
1-ranked Swiatek’s winning streak to 35 matches and her French Open title count to two. That’s when the tears flowed, first during the Polish national anthem — Swiatek is the only player from that nation to win a Grand Slam singles title — and, again, during the trophy ceremony. “I just told Coco, ‘Don’t cry,’” said Swiatek, who claimed the 2020 French Open while still a teen and ranked outside the top 50, “and what am I doing right now?” She interrupted herself a few times during her victory speech, at one point admonishing, “Oh, my God.
It seems like I still need some experience.” But Swiatek also gathered her thoughts well enough to offer support and wishes of hope for Ukraine, which Russia invaded in February. “Stay strong, because the world is still there,” Swiatek told Ukrainians, whose blue-and-yellow flag is represented by a ribbon of those colors she has been wearing on her white cap during matches.