Iga Swiatek wins third consecutive French Open title as world No1 demolishes Jasmine Paolini

RUTHLESS Iga Swiatek was crowned Queen of Clay for the third time in a row – after dropping just THREE GAMES.

Once more Roland Garros was turned into Poland Garros as the Warsaw-born Swiatek maintained her grip on the French Open women’s singles title in Paris.

GettyIga Swiatek raced to a fourth French Open title[/caption]

AFPJasmine Paolini was outplayed on Court Philippe-Chatrier[/caption]

A dominant 6-2 6-1 victory over first-time Slam finalist Jasmine Paolini of Italy was all over in a 68-minute masterclass.

Overall, this was her fourth success in five visits to the French capital and she banks £2million for her efforts this past fortnight.

The other women to enjoy a three-peat on Parisian clay was Monica Seles (1990-92), once of Yugoslavia and then the United States, and Belgian Justine Henin (2005-07).

Paolini, a surprise finalist, won just three games out of 15 – the fewest number of games conceded by Swiatek.

After heavy rain disrupted the first week and saw this event christened the ‘Drench Open’, the sun was shining for this finals weekend and the roof was open on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Summer hats and sunscreen were required in the posh seats but the question everyone was asking pre-match was: How long would this actually last? And how many games would Swiatek lose?

Some felt it could be all over within an hour especially as newbie Paolini had never been beyond the fourth round of a Slam before this tournament.

Paolini, 28, avoided getting bagelled in the first set as she held her first service game.

But even that was a struggle and she faced a break point despite being 40-0 up.

Surprisingly, Swiatek was broken in game three by the tenacious No12 seed when her forehand sailed long.

Yet that only seemed to fire up the world No1, who won the next FIVE games in a row to claim the first set in 34 minutes, dropping only FOUR points along the way.

The crowd – and there was a large number of empty seats – realised they were watching a straightforward procession to the title.

Italian fans in the crowd, particularly those wearing the national colours of green, white and red, tried their damnest to encourage Paolini.

But breaks of serve by Swiatek in games two and four of the second set helped her to cruise to another triumph on her favourite surface and on her most-treasured court.

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ReutersSwiatek was at her brilliant best on the clay[/caption]

GettyThe No12 seed struggled to cope with Swiatek[/caption]

APRoland Garros became Poland Garros with support for Swiatek[/caption]

ReutersSwiatek roared to victory in 68 minutes[/caption]

Iga Świątek takes the first set and is now just one set away from her fourth #RolandGarros title pic.twitter.com/gyhAvvjyew

— Eurosport (@eurosport) June 8, 2024