Updated Swiatek digs deep to beat Muchova and win French Open

Iga Swiatek fought off a Karolina Muchova comeback to complete a hat-trick of French Open titles.

The 22-year-old Pole cemented her status as the best female player in the world, particularly on clay, with her third title in four years at Roland Garros.

But this was by some distance the hardest of her grand slam finals, with unseeded Czech Muchova battling back from a set and 3-0 down to force a decider.

Muchova twice led by a break in that but Swiatek refused to be beaten, eventually prevailing 6-2 5-7 6-4 after two hours and 46 minutes and crouching down on the clay in tears.

She is the first woman since Justine Henin in 2007 to successfully defend her title on the Paris clay and joins Naomi Osaka on four grand slam titles - veteran Venus Williams with seven is the only active player to hold more.

Swiatek joins Osaka and Monica Seles, meanwhile, as the only women in the open era to win each of their first four slam finals.

Muchova, a 26-year-old ranked 43, produced the performance of her life to beat second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, saving a match point and fighting back from 5-2 down in the deciding set.

But Swiatek had both the experience and a formidable record in finals to bolster her confidence, while Muchova was through to this stage for the first time.

She made a very nervous start and it appeared Swiatek may come up against little resistance but Muchova got on the board in the fourth game and the rest of the first set was competitive.

The Czech showcased the variety she has in her game against Sabalenka, keeping the Australian Open champion off balance with her court craft and willingness to come to the net, and she produced some standout moments here.

There were just too many unforced errors, though,