Queen of clay Swiatek rules again at Roland Garros

PARIS :Iga Swiatek produced a ruthless performance to crush 12th seed Jasmine Paolini and cement her reputation as the queen of clay on Saturday with a third straight French Open crown and fifth Grand Slam title of her young career.

Swiatek's 6-2 6-1 win, her 21st straight victory at her happiest hunting ground, put her fourth on the list of longest streaks at Roland Garros in the Open era behind Chris Evert (29), Monica Seles (25) and Justine Henin (24).

She also became the third woman to capture three consecutive titles on Parisian clay after Henin (2005-07) and Monica Seles (1990-92).

The 23-year-old Pole, who arrived in Paris having lifted titles in Madrid and Rome, extended her run of victories on clay to 19 matches to clinch her fourth French Open title in five years.

"It means a lot. This tournament has been pretty surreal with its beginning and the second round, and then I was able to get my game better every match," Swiatek told reporters, with the shining Suzanne Lenglen cup beside her.

"I'm really proud of myself because the expectations have been pretty high from the outside. Pressure, as well. I'm happy that I just went for it and I was ready to deal with all of this. And I could win."

Swiatek, now 5-0 in major finals having claimed the U.S. Open in 2022, is the first woman to lift the same Grand Slam title for three successive years since American Serena Williams from 2012-14 at Flushing Meadows.

She came out all guns blazing but after narrowly missing the opportunity to break from 0-40 down in the second game, the top seed Pole made heavy weather of the next to surrender her serve, before bouncing right back.

The diminutive Paolini, the third Italian woman after Francesca Schiavone and Sara Errani to reach the