Swiatek’s aura at Roland Garros is changing into so nice that she is now being dubbed the ‘Queen of Clay’.
The important thing statistics present why:
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Swiatek has gained 21 matches in a row on the French Open – the fourth-longest streak in girls’s singles within the Open period
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Swiatek has gained 35 of her 37 matches at Roland Garros
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She has not misplaced in Paris since 2021
By beating Paolini on Saturday, Swiatek has turn out to be the youngest girl to win 4 French Open titles within the Open period.
Solely Chris Evert (seven), Steffi Graf (six) and Justine Henin (4) have matched or bettered her tally.
American nice Evert, who gained 18 main titles between 1974 and 1986, says she worries “each day” about Swiatek beating her document at Roland Garros.
“Once I put my head beneath the pillow I’m anxious about Iga,” Evert joked on Eurosport.
“I believe Iga will find yourself on double digits. I don’t simply assume she’s going to beat my document right here – I believe it’s double digits.”
Requested for her response to Evert’s feedback, Swiatek smiled. “It’s good to listen to such phrases. However I’m not pondering in these classes,” she mentioned.
“Even being right here and profitable 5 Grand Slams appears fairly surreal. I might by no means have anticipated that after I was youthful.
“Attending to double digits right here nonetheless appears a protracted shot.
“I’ll certain work for it and can do my finest to turn out to be higher and higher yearly – and play my finest tennis right here.”
Whereas most of Swiatek’s Grand Slam success has come on the clay, her dominance on the WTA Tour has been underpinned by her skill on the laborious courts.
Her different main triumph got here on the 2022 US Open, with 13 of her 22 WTA titles approaching the acrylic.
Grass has been her least proficient floor – having performed simply 23 matches on the floor in her skilled profession, in contrast with 205 on laborious and 90 on clay.
Wimbledon is the most important match the place she has had the least success as knowledgeable.
Final 12 months’s run to the quarter-finals was her finest efficiency, though she did win the junior title on the All England Membership in 2018.
“I believe Swiatek will win all 4 Grand Slams,” mentioned former British primary Annabel Croft, who was summarising the ultimate for BBC Radio 5 Reside.
“Have a look at Nadal – I believe folks thought he would by no means win Wimbledon however he discovered a method to win it.”