Iga Swiatek continues to dominate in her run to win a third consecutive French Open title as she crushed Anastasia Potapova 6–0, 6–0 in the fourth round on Sunday.
Swiatek didn’t drop a single game in the match, which only lasted 40 minutes. This was the quickest match in Swiatek’s career thus far. In fact, she only lost 10 points during the entire match. The games never went to deuce, and Potapova never forced a break point.
The World No. 1 was at a loss for words with her commanding performance on Sunday when she spoke after the match.
“I was just really focused and really in the zone,” Swiatek said. “It went pretty quickly, pretty weird.”
Ever since Swiatek turned 23 on Friday, she’s been on a tear. She beat Marie Bouzková in straight sets in the third round, too. Swiatek’s journey hasn’t been fully a breeze, though, as her second round match vs. four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka went into a decisive third set.
Swiatek will face No. 5 Marketa Vondrousova in the quarterfinal on Tuesday, June 4. This is Swiatek’s fifth consecutive quarterfinal at the French Open.
If indeed this 2024 vintage of the French Open marked the last time that 14-time champ Rafael Nadal played this event, be assured there is an heir apparent. An heiress apparent, anyway. Saturday on Court Philippe Chatrier, Iga Swiatek, 23, won the French Open women’s singles title for the third straight time and fourth time in the last five years. In this afternoon’s final, in what was less a tennis match than a tennis demonstration, she swept aside Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 6–2, 6–1 in 68 minutes.
Recalling Nadal, Swiatek sometimes appeared to play tennis. Other times she was playing an elevated, clay-specific version of the sport. She guided her heavy, spin-drizzled whipping groundstrokes with power and precision. She served capably. She transitioned from impenetrable defense to potent offense. She hugged the baseline between unbeatable and unplayable.
Many of Swiatek’s talents and skills are obvious to the naked eye. Others, less so. In the second round, she was a point from losing to Naomi Osaka, who entered the tournament tied with Swiatek with four majors. Swiatek took a risk on a return. She won the point. And the game. And soon thereafter the match.
Her campaign salvaged, she was never threatened again, dropping just 17 games in her next five matches, adding to her tally of 21 straight wins at Roland Garros. Confidence begetting confidence, on the rare occasion she is made to fight, Swiatek does so.
The comparisons to Nadal—who won only 64% of his majors here, as opposed to Swiatek’s current ratio of 80—are apt. So, too are the comparisons to Steffi Graf, who married skill and athleticism with unflappability. One stat that tells a rich story: this was Swiatek’s 22nd overall pro title. She has played in 26 finals.
Do spare a thought for Paolini, the delightful and winsome 28-year-old, who has emerged as both a lead figure of the Italian tennis invasion and a new star on the WTA Tour. Mid-career, her gifts are finally coalescing. If she is modest in stature, she is overflowing with energy and confidence. She leaves this event embedded in the top 10 and is still alive to play the women's doubles final tomorrow with partner Sara Errani.
But today she had few answers for Swiatek and her battery of skills, which gives her something in common with 126 other players in the draw. This was Swiatek’s day. At her event. During her era.
For two decades, the Big Three was a sort of rhythm section to men’s tennis. Women’s tennis now has a-the-big one.
When fans watched Novak Djokovic crush Robby Ginepri 6–0, 6–0, 6–3 in the first round of the 2005 French Open, could they have known what was coming next?
That turned out to be the first Grand Slam match win for Djokovic, who won his 369th such match Friday against Italy's Lorenzo Musetti 7–5, 6–7 (8), 2–6, 6–3, 6–0. With the win, he tied Swiss legend Roger Federer's record. Rafael Nadal is third with 314.
Musetti did not make it easy on Djokovic, but the 37-year-old defending champion recovered to take the final two sets. He will play Argentina's Francisco Cerúndolo Monday morning in the fourth round.
Djokovic's first match victory in a major came mere days after he turned 18, and took place so long ago that he won it while representing Serbia and Montenegro. Montenegro gained its independence from Serbia a year later.
Djokovic remains in search of his record 25th major championship.
The greatest men’s tennis player in history just hit a serious roadblock in his pursuit of adding to his record number of Grand Slam titles.
Novak Djokovic was forced to withdraw from the French Open with a knee injury Tuesday, one day after he outlasted Francisco Cerundolo in a five-set thriller in the fourth round that took nearly five hours to complete.
An MRI found that Djokovic has a torn medial meniscus in his right knee. According to multiple reports, Djokovic will undergo surgery to repair the injury in Paris on Wednesday.
The surgery places Djokovic’s status for Wimbledon in serious doubt. The tournament is set to begin on July 1, giving Djokovic less than a month to recover from the procedure. It’ll also be a fairly tight turnaround before this summer’s Olympics in Paris, which begin on July 27.
“The likelihood is that Djokovic will skip the grass-court swing to focus on playing at the Paris Olympics,” ESPN’s Tom Hamilton reported.
It makes sense that Djokovic would want to prioritize the Olympics over Wimbledon. He’s already won seven times at the All England Club and Olympic gold is the only major honor that he has yet to win in his storied career. He won bronze at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing but has failed to even medal at the last three Olympics. At 37, this is almost assuredly Djokovic’s last chance to win gold.
Skipping the grass court season could also be beneficial for Djokovic because he wouldn’t have to reacclimate himself to the clay courts of Roland Garros, where the Olympic tournament will be held.
But it also seems naive to just assume that, at his age, Djokovic will be able to recover from knee surgery and pick up where he left off. By the time the Olympics begin, he will be older than the oldest Grand Slam champion in men’s tennis history (1972 Australian Open champ Ken Rosewell, who was 37 years, 54 days old when he won). Djokovic’s contemporaries Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal started fading when they reached the age Djokovic is now, both due largely to injuries (a knee for Federer and a hip for Nadal). And Djokovic was already struggling this season before the injury, failing to reach the final in any of the six tournaments he played before Roland Garros. It’s fair to wonder what he’ll look like after rehabbing an injury.
Whether or not the end is imminent for Djokovic, his injury makes it natural to start thinking about the next era of men’s tennis. His career might not be over yet, but it will be before long. His withdrawal from the French led to one major torch-passing moment, as 22-year-old Jannik Sinner will now become the No. 1 player in the world at the conclusion of the tournament. He and 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz (currently ranked No. 3) are the future of the sport. The question is how much longer they’ll have to battle with Djokovic.
Brown (7) and Tatum will play in their second NBA Finals. / Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports