French Open: Iga Swiatek racks up 31st straight win, extends streak

PARIS: Iga Swiatek was on court for all of 90 minutes in her French Open third-round clash. She didn’t drop a set, but she was stretched. After leading 4-1 in the second set, the 20-year-old fell behind 4-5. Tennis’ magnitude scale was heaving.
The world No.1 then simply did a Swiatek winning the next three games to extend her winning streak to 31-matches.
Swiatek, who was broken thrice on Court Philippe Chatrier on Saturday, beat Montenegro’s 95th-ranked Danka Kovinic 6-3, 7-5 making her the only top-ten player in the women’s field to survive the first week of the clay court Grand Slam.
At a time when the women’s field has appeared more open than ever, Swiatek's consistency is the game’s crowning glory.
The Pole, who has been unbeaten since February, has won 46 of her last 47 sets. Her winning streak is the fourth longest since the turn of the millennium. She’s one win away from drawing level with Justine Henin’s 32 in 2007-8. Should Swiatek make the title-round she’ll equal Serena Williams’ 34 in 2013. A second Roland Garros title would help her draw level with Venus Williams’ 35 in 2000.
The intensity of the exchange in the middle surprised the tennis world more than it did the top-seed. “The matches that I played here (so far), I feel like I have been dominating. Today, at some point I wasn't. That wasn't surprising or weird,” Swiatek said. “I had a tight match against Bianca (Andreescu in Rome for example). It's not that I’ve forgotten how to play these kinds of sets.”
“It's okay,” she added kindly!
Swiatek, who has remained remarkably focused even when making her way through matches swiftly, says she's been playing loose. “From my point of view, I don't really mind the streak. I have gained so many points this season already, I try to look at it from that perspective. I actually have nothing to lose here,” Swiatek said, canning the pressure and thrashing it. “Every person is playing better when they feel like they have nothing to lose.”
In the fourth round Swiatek will face Roland Garros debutante China’s Zheng Qinwen. The 19-year-old Qinwen came through when Frenchwoman Alize Cornet conceded her match due to a left-thigh injury. Cornet was booed off the court after she called a stop to the match when trailing 0-6, 0-3.
The two other top-ten players in action on the day – No.3 Paula Badosa and No.7 Arya Sabalenka – finished on the receiving end of the scoreline. Spain’s Badosa retired from her match against Veronica Kudermetova after receiving treatment on her right knee in the first set. She was trailing 3-6, 1-2. Sabalenka was bageled in the deciding third set (6-4, 1-6) by Italian Camila Giorgi, who reached the round of 16 at Roland Garros for the first time.
In other matches world No.2 Daniil Medvedev moved past Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2, 6-4, 6-2; seventh seed Andrey Rublev came through in the battle of Roland Garros junior champions, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (11) against Chile’s Cristian Garin.