September 19, 2024

Iga Świątek Captures 3rd French Open Title as Fans Applaud Win vs. Karolína Muchová

Iga Swiatek #IgaSwiatek

AP Photo/Jean-Francois Badias

For the third time in four years, Iga Świątek has won the French Open with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory over Karolína Muchová in Saturday’s final.

It looked like Świątek was going to have a fairly easy day at the office in the final. She won the opening set in 45 minutes and went 14-of-19 on first-serve points (74 percent).

Muchová helped the No. 1 seed by committing 14 unforced errors in the first set and 38 over the course of the entire match.

The Czech Republic native settled into her game in the second set. She broke Świątek’s serve three times, including in the 11th game to take a 6-5 lead and hold serve in the next game to even the match.

Muchová was on point to start the third set, taking a 2-1 advantage going on serve in the fourth game. She had a chance to take a commanding lead, but Świątek was able to get the break to even the set.

After Muchová moved ahead once with another break point for a 4-3 advantage, Świątek hit another gear that allowed her to put the match away. She broke Muchová in the next game, and followed it up by holding serve to go up 5-4.

Championship point was a bit of a letdown, with Świątek getting her historic win when Muchová double-faulted.

Fans and analysts had nothing but praise for Świątek’s effort and resilience in Saturday’s final and throughout the entire tournament.

Adding to the accolades and praise for the young superstar, Świątek is the eighth woman in the Open Era with at least three French Open titles. She joins a group that includes Chris Evert (seven), Steffi Graf (six), Justine Henin (four), Margaret Court, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Monica Seles and Serena Williams (three each).

Despite the disappointing end for Muchová, this was a memorable run for the 26-year-old. She endured a series of injuries in 2021 and 2022 that left doctors skeptical her career would be able to continue.

This was the first grand slam final for Muchová after never making it past the third round in four previous appearances at the French Open.

Świątek’s next test in a grand-slam tournament will be at Wimbledon starting on July 3. It’s the only one of the four major events she hasn’t at least reached the semifinal in her career.

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