Iga Swiatek: Karolina Muchova put up a strong fight in French Open final

<p>Iga Swiatek felt her confidence grow after battling past Karolina Muchova to claim her third French Open title.</p>

<p>The 22-year-old Pole cemented her status as the best female player in the world, particularly on clay, with her third title in four years at Roland Garros.</p>

<p>But this was by some distance the hardest of her grand slam finals, with unseeded Czech Muchova battling back from a set and 3-0 down to force a decider.</p>

<p>Muchova twice led by a break in that but Swiatek refused to be beaten, eventually prevailing 6-2 5-7 6-4 after two hours and 46 minutes and crouching down on the clay in tears.</p>

<p>"I'm feeling all these different emotions right now," said Swiatek.</p>

<p>"It's pretty surreal, everything. But the match was really intense, a lot of ups and downs. Stressful moments and coming back. So I'm pretty happy that at the end I could be solid in those few last games and finish it.</p>

<p>"But Karolina really played well. It was a big challenge. I'm happy and really proud of myself that I did it.</p>

<p>"This one, for sure, it was a little bit tougher in terms of injuries and the pressure, and also coming back to this tournament as a defending champion.</p>

<p>"I'm happy that I finished the whole clay court swing so well and that I kind of survived. I guess I'm never going to doubt my strength again."</p>

<p>Swiatek is the first woman since Justine Henin in 2007 to successfully defend her title on the Paris clay and joins Naomi Osaka on four grand slam titles - veteran Venus Williams with seven is the only active player to hold more.</p>

<p>Swiatek equals Osaka and Monica Seles, meanwhile, as the only women in the open era to win each of their first four slam finals.</p>

<p>Muchova, a 26-year-old ranked 43, produced the performance of her life to beat second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-finals, saving a match point and fighting back from 5-2 down in the deciding set.</p>

<p>She made a slow start and it looked set to be another comfortable ride in a slam final for Swiatek but from 3-0 in the second set the momentum shifted.</p>

<p>Muchova began to impose her clever game a lot more on the match while Swiatek tightened up, double-faulting to hand her opponent the chance to serve for the set at 5-4.</p>

<p>Muchova could not take her first opportunity but another shaky game from Swiatek gave her a second chance and this time she made it over the line, clinching her third set point after a stunning all-court rally.</p>

<p>Muchova has struggled badly with injuries during her career and it was only last year that doctors told her she might have to give up the game.</p>

<p>She rode her momentum at the start of the decider by moving into a 2-0 lead as Swiatek threatened to implode but the 22-year-old pulled herself together quickly to level.</p>

<p>They exchanged breaks again in the seventh and eighth games and Swiatek regained the ascendancy when she fought off another break point to hold for 5-4.</p>

<p>The pressure of serving to stay in the contest proved too much for Muchova, who made three errors before double-faulting on match point in a cruel end to an absorbing final.</p>

<p>Swiatek said: "I felt pretty confident with my game in the second set but I also knew that it's only one break. So I needed to stay constantly aware and ready for everything, especially playing against Karolina, knowing that she's come back from really crazy situations in this tournament.</p>

<p>"In the third set I didn't want to have any regrets about the second. I just kind of looked forward, and I said to myself, 'OK, I'm just going to give it all. No thinking, no analysing, just play my game, use my intuition', and that really helped."</p>

<p>Muchova was overcome with emotion at the trophy ceremony while Swiatek had to have two goes at lifting the trophy after dropping the lid on the first attempt.</p>

<p>"I honestly felt like I'm holding it with my finger, so I guess all these emotions caused that," said the Pole.</p>

<p>"Sorry, I don't mean to be disrespectful. I'm glad that Suzanne Lenglen trophy is fine and it won't happen again probably, but we'll see. I just hope I'm going to have a chance to hold it again in future years."</p>

<p>Muchova was left with mixed emotions, saying: "The feeling is a little bitter, because I felt it was very close, a close match.</p>

<p>"But overall, to call myself a grand slam finalist, it's an amazing achievement, and for sure big motivation for me to work in the future and to get a chance again to play for these big titles."</p>

<p>The article <a href="https://www.planetsport.com/tennis/news/iga-swiatek-karolina-muchova-put-strong-fight-french-open-final">Iga Swiatek: Karolina Muchova put up a strong fight in French Open final </a> appeared first on Planetsport.com.</p>