Tennis: A Popular Racket Sport - Swiatek takes on Paolini in the French Open's Parisian final
Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini will face each other in the French Open's championship match. Swiatek, the top Polish player, has consistently won in Paris, defeating Coco Gauff in a 6:2, 6:4 match to advance.
Paolini, in her second semifinal, secured her largest career triumph against Mirra Andrejewa with a 6:3, 6:1 victory. As a world number 15 with no prior Grand Slam titles, Paolini is an underdog against established contender Swiatek, who has already won three French Open championships since 2020.
"The match was intense and tense in the second set. I'm thrilled with how I stuck to my strategy, didn't overthink, and won," Swiatek expressed. Paolini shared, "I was a bit nervous in the first set. However, with each point, I felt more at ease. I'm delighted."
Swiatek eclipses Graf's achievement
With this win, Swiatek ties German tennis great Steffi Graf's record of 20 consecutive victories at the French Open (1987-1989). Though she has surpassed Graf's mark, Swiatek still needs nine more victories to match it.
In terms of experience, Paolini had an advantage against Andrejewa. The age gap of eleven years between the two French Open finalists has not been observed since 1985, when Chris Evert and Gabriela Sabatini squared off.
Gauff offers a title chance in women's doubles. She and Katerina Siniakova are in the semi-finals, competing with Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk.
"You're crying because you're lying"
During the match, Gauff evened the score at 2:1 and 0:15 when a call by the umpire shook her. Frustrated by the umpire's interpretation, Gauff had to dry her eyes with her tennis bracelet. "You're crying because you're lying," Gauff told the umpire. Early commentary on Eurosport from former national coach Barbara Rittner: "She's just a person, and she's 20 years old. She was really desperate."
The crowd reacted similarly. ["You're crying because you're lying."] [Gauff addressed the umpire, "You're crying because you're lying."]
