Iga Swiatek beats Danka Kovinic to reach fourth round of French Open

For the first time at the French Open this year, Iga Swiatek was struggling. As she faced Danka Kovinic of Montenegro in the third round, she had not produced her best but still coolly moved to a 6-3, 4-1 lead with a double break.

Just as Swiatek seemed to be progressing to victory, she hit a wall. Her forehand, already lagging in the first set, crumbled. Within a few minutes, Swiatek had lost four consecutive games in a row, including a run of 11 points. As she flailed, Kovinic, a talented shotmaker with an enormous first serve, played freely.

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Suddenly, it was over. Swiatek’s forehand returned right as she served to stay in the set at 4-5 and as Kovinic made crucial errors on important points, Swiatek won the final three games to reach the fourth round with a 6-3, 7-5 win.

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Swiatek has won 31 matches in a row, moving her to one win shy of equaling Justine Henin’s winning streak at her ultimate peak in 2007. The No 1 is 38-3 this season and she has won 17 of her 19 career matches at the French Open. In her four appearances in Paris, she has never failed to reach the second week.

In an era of parity in women’s tennis, at a time when there has never been so much belief among the lower-ranked players when they step on the court against top 10 players, the final games underlined an increasingly rare spectacle: the aura. Over the course of her immense winning streak, Swiatek’s on-court presence has only grown and it is a challenge in itself. Beating her will not only require an opponent to match her tennis level, but also to overcome her reputation. All the