Four-time champion moves into third round for seventh time in seven visits to Paris
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFTIga Swiatek bt Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-2
It was always going to be a monumental task for Emma Raducanu.
The US Open 2021 breakout champion has conjured up a promising resurgence in recent months, however, the world No.41 had never beaten Iga Swiatek in four previous attempts.
The reigning Roland-Garros champion, on track to capture a fourth successive crown on Court Philippe-Chatrier, dismantled Raducanu 6-1, 6-0 at January’s Australian Open. In their most recent meeting on clay, Swiatek found the answers 7-6(2), 6-3 at Stuttgart 2024. It was a similar story on Wednesday afternoon in the French capital.
The 2025 season hasn’t been satisfactory by Swiatek's own admission, but the Pole is rediscovering her groove in Paris at just the right time.
World No.5 Swiatek began tentatively, gifting a break point with a double fault, before evading danger by swatting away a mid-court backhand.
Raducanu was trying to give her opponent different looks, different heights, but Swiatek swiftly asserted her dominance with a 3-1 lead.
Swiatek’s back-to-the-wall defensive stance wore down the patience of Raducanu, who curled an overhead wide as the No.5 seed earned a double break lead. Swiatek could now express herself with her extensive range of shots; by now her forehand was the real weapon and she honed in on the baseline to take the emphatic opener.
Time for the backhand to blaze. Swiatek crouched down and with the purest connection, found a telling winner. The very next point she pounced on a short ball to rifle another backhand down the line to steal a 2-1 break advantage.
The next game decided the match. Swiatek fended off three break points, the last erased by a Rafael Nadal style lassoed forehand winner. Ten minutes later and the defending champion had pulled clear once again.
A 32nd and final winner, a crunching backhand, signalled the start of the celebrations. Swiatek moves on to face Czech qualifier Sara Bejlek or world No.60 Jaqueline Cristan.
©Corinne Dubreuil / FFTSwiatek is now on a 23-match winning streak at Roland-Garros, following her mighty three-peat from 2022-24.
The world No.5 is 22-2 in Grand Slam second round matches and hasn’t lost before the third round of a major since US Open 2019. She is the only male or female player to book a third-round spot in all 21 majors from the start of 2020.
Swiatek has also won her last seven Grand Slam meetings against former major champions.
On her performance: “I just want to play my game. For sure, I felt good on court. I felt I could do what I wanted to, what I planned to. I just needed to adjust to the wind because the conditions were pretty tricky today. I’m happy I adapted well and I’m through.”
On a day off in Paris: “I’ll practise pretty early so I can spend the whole day chilling. Nothing special, I don’t go out right before a match. I’ll go to the park, do some Legos, read a book and not watch too many TV shows, because then I have weird dreams.
“I’ve gotta stick to the things that calm me down. Paris is beautiful, so just having a walk outside is already an amazing experience. I’m not overthinking it.”
On 23 wins in a row: “I just love playing here. This place inspires me, it makes me work harder. I think for sure, having some time off before (Paris) helped me a little bit. I’m just ready to fight for it and compete.”
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
