FRENCH OPEN
Ruthless Swiatek crushes Gauff to clinch second French Open title
World number one Iga Swiatek confirmed her dominance of women’s tennis by sweeping aside American teenager Coco Gauff 6-1 6-3 to claim her second French Open title in three years on Saturday.
The 21-year-old Pole’s blend of power, poise and precision on the clay was too much to handle for the 18-year-old Gauff, who never recovered from a shaky start in her maiden Grand Slam final.
Swiatek, who took over as world number one when Australian Ash Barty announced her shock retirement in March, has now won 35 consecutive matches – matching the longest unbeaten streak since Venus Williams in 2000.
She raced through the opening set and snapped Gauff’s brief resistance in the second to become the fourth player this century to lift the Suzanne Lenglen Cup on multiple occasions.
“Two years ago winning this was something amazing. This time I feel I worked hard to get here. It was pretty tough, the pressure was big,” said Swiatek after sobbing when the Polish anthem was being played.
“Thank you fans for the support, for coming, all the Polish flags I see there,” she added, also thanking her team.
“I am happy that every piece has finally come together.”
Gauff thanked her team for getting her to the final.
“I’m sorry I could not get this one today, but thank you guys for always supporting me,” she said.
Gauff had promised to play without pressure but in muggy conditions, she failed to find her breath as Swiatek’s all-in tennis added to the suffocating atmosphere.
The top seed, who now has two Grand Slam titles to her name, made the most of her opponent’s early nerves to break in the first game, setting the tone of a showdown many had hoped would be a close contest.
A superb backhand passing shot winner got Gauff into the groove, but Swiatek kept the pressure on and stole her serve again as she dragged the American off the court and forced her to hit a forehand wide.
She held for 4-0 and with little to lose, Gauff started to play more freely.
But the Pole hit back harder to go 5-1 up with a gravity-defying forehand winner that dusted the baseline.
Gauff saved a set point with a forehand winner but fired a backhand wide to go one down after just over half an hour.
But as a cool breeze lowered the temperature on court Philippe Chatrier, Gauff turned up the heat to go 2-0 up in the second set.
Eager for a longer contest, the crowd chanted “Coco, Coco!” as Gauff slipped to 0-30 on her serve at 2-1.
Swiatek was undeterred and she broke back for 2-2 before drowning Gauff in a deluge of winners to race to 5-2 up.
The American’s ordeal ended after 68 minutes when she sent a forehand long to hand Swiatek the title.
The new champion ran to her box after a brief celebration, while Gauff sat on her courtside chair and wept.
-Reuters
The first round of the French Open starts on Sunday, with Novak Djokovic beginning his hunt for a fourth crown and a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title when he takes on home hope Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, while world number three Alexander Zverev faces Benjamin Bonzi.
The claycourt Grand Slam starts under a shadow, with some players deciding to restrict their appearances at Friday’s and Saturday’s traditional pre-tournament media days amid growing tensions over prize money and player influence.
TOP MEN’S MATCH: DJOKOVIC V MPETSHI PERRICARD
Djokovic has played just one match since Indian Wells in March, and the 39-year-old will need to quickly shake off any rust when he meets Mpetshi Perricard for the first time in his career in his opening match.
The Serbian has spent the last two years trying to capture a 25th major crown that would move him past Margaret Court to take sole possession of the record, but that quest looks in danger of being prolonged.
“I wanted to play more , but my body was not allowing me. I was going through the rehabilitation process for my injury,” Djokovic told reporters.
“If I’m able to somehow maintain a level of freshness and progress… then I feel like I have always had a very good chance. I have proven that in Australia this year, where I was close to winning another Slam. I always have that belief in me when I’m on the court.”
TOP WOMEN’S MATCH: ANDREEVA V FERRO
Russian Mirra Andreeva has had a strong clay season, winning the Linz Open and reaching her first WTA 1000 final at the Madrid Open, while also making it to the semi-finals in Stuttgart and quarter-finals in Rome.
The 19-year-old begins against world number 200 Fiona Ferro of France, and should face little trouble if she can prevent the home fans from affecting her as they did in her quarter-final defeat to Lois Boisson at last year’s tournament.
“Obviously, the crowd is going to support her (Ferro) as much as they can, and that’s totally okay,” Andreeva said.
“I have some experience even from last year when I played quarters, so I pretty much know what to expect… We will see how it’s going to go, but I hope they’re not going to be too hard on me.”
CAN ZVEREV JOIN GRAND SLAM CLUB?
Zverev has been on the verge of a maiden Grand Slam title at many points over his career, reaching three finals and falling just short, and if the German is to finally accomplish the feat, the French Open looks to be his best bet.
The 29-year-old reached the final in Paris in 2024 and has made it to at least the quarter-final stage in seven of the past eight editions, putting him among the favourites this year, especially in the absence of injured world number two Carlos Alcaraz.
Zverev begins his campaign against Bonzi, who could prove a tricky customer; however, with the Frenchman being one of only three players to have taken a set off world number one Jannik Sinner during the Italian’s incredible 29-match winning streak.
FRENCH OPEN ORDER OF PLAY ON SUNDAY (prefix number denotes seeding):
COURT PHILIPPE CHATRIER (play begins at 1000 GMT)
- Sinja Kraus (Austria) v 11-Belinda Bencic (Switzerland)
- Benjamin Bonzi (France) v 2-Alexander Zverev (Germany)
- 8-Mirra Andreeva (Russia) v Fiona Ferro (France)
- Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (France) v 3-Novak Djokovic (Serbia)
- COURT SUZANNE LENGLEN (play begins at 0900 GMT)
- 13-Karen Khachanov (Russia) v Arthur Gea (France)
- 26-Hailey Baptiste (United States) v Barbora Krejcikova (Czech Republic)
- 7-Taylor Fritz (U.S.) v Nishesh Basavareddy (U.S.)
- Ksenia Efremova (France) v 18-Sorana Cirstea (Romania)
- COURT SIMONNE MATHIEU (play begins at 0900 GMT)
- 15-Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) v Oksana Selekhmeteva (Russia)
- Katie Volynets (U.S.) v Clara Burel (France)
- Titouan Droguet (France) v 26-Jakub Mensik (Czech Republic)
- 28-Joao Fonseca (Brazil) v Luka Pavlovic (France)
-Reuters
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Venus Williams will compete in doubles at the French Open later this month, organisers confirmed on Wednesday.
Williams, 45, will partner with Hailey Baptiste, 24, for the clay-court tournament at Roland Garros, which begins on May 24 in Paris.
Williams, however, will not compete in the singles tournament.
She was a wild-card entry at the Australian Open, where she lost in three sets during the first round to Serbia’s Olga Danilovic.
Williams is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles. She has won seven Grand Slam titles in singles and 14 in doubles, including the French Open in doubles in 1999 and 2010.
-Reuters
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Newly-crowned French Open champion Coco Gauff, the first Black American to win the title in a decade, said on Saturday her victory in Paris was for people back home who looked like her and struggled amid ongoing political turmoil.
Gauff battled from a set down to beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(5) 6-2 6-4 and lift her first French Open crown and her second Grand Slam title after the 2023 U.S. Open.
She is the first Black American to win the French Open since Serena Williams in 2015.
“It means a lot (to win the title), and obviously there’s a lot going on in our country right now with things — like, everything, yeah. I’m sure you guys know,” she said, smiling but without elaborating further.
“But just to be able to be a representation of that and a representation of, I guess, people that look like me in America who maybe don’t feel as supported during this time period, and so just being that reflection of hope and light for those people.”
There has been ongoing political turmoil in the United States following the election of President Donald Trump last year.
Trump’s first few months in office have featured an unapologetic assault on diversity and inclusion efforts, unravelling decades-old policies to remedy historical injustices for marginalised groups in a matter of weeks.
In his second term, Trump revoked a landmark 1965 executive order mandating equal employment opportunities for all, slashed environmental actions to protect communities of colour and ordered the gutting of an agency that helped fund minority and women-owned businesses.
The actions have alarmed advocates, who say they effectively erase decades of hard-fought progress on levelling the playing field for marginalised communities.
“I remember after the election and everything, it kind of felt a down period a little bit and my mom told me during Riyadh (in November 2024) ‘just try to win the tournament, just to give something for people to smile for’.
“So that’s what I was thinking about today when holding that (trophy).
“Then seeing the flags in the crowd means a lot. You know, some people may feel some type of way about being patriotic and things like that, but I’m definitely patriotic and proud to be American, and I’m proud to represent the Americans that look like me and people who kind of support the things that I support.”
Trump has previously denied claims he has employed racist attacks and an agenda throughout his political career.
-Reuters
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