Perfection in Paris: Iga Swiatek's unbeaten run fetches her second French Open title

Iga Swiatek did one better. The 21-year-old went right ahead and rained a storm of winners to claim her second French Open crown. As Coco Gauff’s return floated over the baseline a little after tea time on Saturday, Swiatek whipped around and faced her box before going down on the clay. Her face buried in the palm of her hand. The Pole’s team – coach Tomasz Wiktorowski, mental coach Daria Abramowicz, trainer Maciej Ryszczuk and her Olympian dad Tomasz Swiatek -- rose to their feet to applaud the most dominant player in tennis today. At the other end of the packed-to-the rafter venue, Gauff, who was in her first Grand Slam final, dropped heavily on a courtside seat, sobbing silently. Tears ran down the 18-year-old’s cheeks unabated.

Gauff wiped her face dry before she took the microphone and applauded the champion for what has been a scintillating run these past three months. Swiatek’s 6-1, 6-3 victory on Saturday, achieved in about the time a feature film breaks for interval, extended her winning streak to 35 matches, equaling Venus Williams for the longest run since 2000. The Pole added Roland Garros to the titles she won this season at Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart and Rome. “This is the first time for me and I hope this is the first of many more finals. One of these days I hope to get a win over you,” Gauff told Swiatek before turning to her box where her parents Corey and Candi stood cheering their daughter. “Sorry I wasn’t able to get this one today, thank you for the support,” she said, finishing with a word for the crowd, “thank you for supporting me even when I was match-point down. It means a lot.”

Swiatek, who held her own in the 68-minute final, battled to contain her tears when the Polish national