French Open: Swiatek survives second-set scare to extend reign to 24 wins

Paris, May 30 (IANS) World No. 1 Iga Swiatek was pushed to the edge but emerged victorious yet again at the Roland Garros. The three-time defending champion defeated Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 7-5 to reach the fourth round of the French Open for the seventh straight year, extending her unbeaten streak at the clay-court Grand Slam to 24 matches.

It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Swiatek. After breezing through the first set in 39 minutes without facing a single break point, the Pole found herself in a gritty second-set battle against an inspired Cristian, who recently reached the Rabat final and brought that confidence to Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Swiatek’s nerves were tested as she had to save six break-points in the second set and fought off a determined Cristian who threatened to take the match into a deciding third. With the second set tied at 5-5 and Cristian a point away from forcing a tiebreak, Swiatek dug deep to break serve and seal the win in one hour and 54 minutes.

Relief was the overriding emotion for the top seed after a challenging afternoon.

“I'm just happy that I was super solid in the last game and didn't give any free points,” Swiatek said. “She used her chances and went for it every time I gave her a chance. It was a great match and I think pretty entertaining. We both played nice; I'm happy I'm through and happy with the performance,” she was quoted as saying by the WTA Tour.

The victory keeps Swiatek on track to equal Monica Seles’ record of 25 consecutive wins at the French Open in the Open Era. To tie that mark, she will have to overcome a formidable challenge in the fourth round — either 2022 Wimbledon champion and 12th seed Elena Rybakina or the 2017 Roland Garros winner Jelena Ostapenko.

If it’s Ostapenko, history won’t be in Swiatek’s favour: she has a surprising 0-6 head-to-head record against the Latvian.

--IANS

hs/bsk/