French Open 2022: ‘Favourite’ Iga Swiatek out to dash Coco Gauff’s teen dream-Sports News , Firstpost

Iga Swiatek (L) takes on Coco Gauff (R) in the French Open final at Roland Garros in Paris. AP

Iga Swiatek was a strong favourite coming into the French Open. Over the course of two weeks, that has not changed. Her rival in the final, Coco Gauff, didn’t shy away from admitting it. “I think going in I have nothing to lose and she’s definitely the favourite going into the match on paper,” said the American teenager.

Swiatek’s sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz was equally confident of the Polish player succeeding on Court Philippe Chatrier on Saturday (4 June). And there is good reason to be confident.

She is ranked World No 1, on a 34-match winning streak, a former Grand Slam champion in Paris and over the fortnight been ruthless on court. She’s handed out three bagels and a breadstick while only being truly tested by Zheng Qinwen in the fourth round when she dropped a set.

If Swiatek beats Gauff, she goes past Serena Williams and equals Venus Williams with the longest winning streak in women’s tennis in the 21st century.

“I couldn’t get rid of the expectations fully (in the semi-finals), but I tried to accept that, that they are going to be there and it’s going to stress me a little bit more,” said Swiatek, who is hoping to become the 10th multiple Roland Garros winner in the Open era.

Over on the other side of the court stands 18-year-old Gauff. The American posed in front of the Eiffel Tower with her high school diploma while donning the traditional gown and hat. Not a bad way to get her time in Paris going.

Over the two weeks, it has remained that way. She’s into the final of both singles and doubles events (partnering Jessica Pegula) with hopes of winning both but acknowledgement of bigger things to worry about in the world than tennis.

Gauff is into her maiden Grand Slam final and yet her foray into the last Saturday of a major doesn’t come as a surprise. She was in the quarter-finals here last year and has done better this time around. The Atlanta-born Gauff burst onto the scene by making the Wimbledon fourth round as a 15-year-old in 2019.

Facing the World No 1 and in-form player on the WTA by a mile, Gauff can take solace in the red Parisian clay’s unpredictability. In its ability to be helpful to throw in surprise champions, uplift low-seeded or unseeded players, to make unknowns become household names. Francesca Schiavone, Jelena Ostapenko, Barbora Krejcikova, Anastasia Myskina are some of the names from the women’s section in the 21st century. The caveat obviously is 13-time champion Rafael Nadal who is into yet another final.

Gauff could become the seventh woman in a row to triumph in Paris without already having won one major elsewhere following Garbiñe Muguruza (2016), Ostapenko (2017), Simona Halep (2018), Ash Barty (2019), Swiatek (2020) and Krejcikova (2021).

Worth bearing in mind that if Swiatek wins, she would be just the third woman in the past 25 years to win the French Open as its top seed (the others were Halep, Justine Henin in 2007, and 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in 2013 and 2015). That says plenty of the tournament’s unpredictability.

Gauff’s run at this year’s tournament should give her plenty of confidence. She is yet to drop a set and was largely dominant in her semi-final against Martina Trevisan.

“I’m just going to play free and play my best tennis. I think in a Grand Slam final anything can happen.

“If I do lift the trophy, honestly, I don’t think my life is going to change really. I know it sounds kind of bad to say that, but the people who love me are still going to love me regardless if I lift the trophy or not.”

With a combined age of 39 years, this could be another chapter in a long and storied rivalry.

Head-to-head: Swiatek has won both of her career meetings with Gauff — in the 2021 Rome semi-finals and in Miami earlier this year.

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