Swiatek cracks the Cristian code

Be the One is the track that got Swiatek hooked on the star’s uplifting music and a star is what the five-time major winner is used to being within the confines of a clay court.

On a hot and sunny Court Suzanne-Lenglen, the Pole secured a return to the fourth round without dropping a set yet in Paris.

Story of the match

A dedicated fan in the stands decorated a Polish flag to read ‘Poland Garros.’ It seemed just so as their national hero was on the charge, with a sublime forehand return winner posting an immediate break; there was no hesitation from Swiatek as she sprinted to 4-1 up.

The Pole’s clay court point construction was dictating play until 1-1 in the second set as Cristian began to step in and jostle for authority. The world No.60 had a break point erased, but that served as a warning sign for the reigning champion.

Locked at 2-2, the Romanian ramped up the pressure on return. Swiatek overtwisted on a forehand to land in trouble two break points down. One chance was fended off in a lung-bursting rally, with the Pole forced to sprint side to side, before catapulting a forehand pass.

The heat was on, Swiatek swatted a total of four break points away and an 11-minute hold was a vital triumph.  

Cristian, enjoying her finest Roland-Garros to date, planted both feet wide and rattled a forehand down the line to spark a hold from two break opportunities down to reach 4-4.

A tie-break was looming, but Swiatek sensed her moment and entered ‘no miss mode’ to tease the necessary errors from her opponent’s racket.

Key stats

Swiatek has dropped serve only once across her three matches thus far, claiming 26 of 27 possible holds.

And she’s notched up 24 Roland-Garros wins in a row. The No.5 seed secured her legacy with a three-peat (2022-24) last June; only Chris Evert (29) and Monica Seles (25) have won more consecutive women’s singles main draw matches in Paris in the Open era.

With a 38-2 record in Paris, the four-time champion has become the player with the joint-most women’s singles main draw victories in the Open era after their first 40 Roland-Garros matches. Swiatek ties with seven-time champion Evert.

Swiatek is also just the sixth player in the Open era to reach the women’s singles Last 16 at all of their first seven main draw appearances at Roland-Garros.

Swiatek's assessment

Finishing in straight sets: "For sure it was a nice match, and she really stepped up in the second set. I had to step up as well. For sure, she used her chances and went for it.

"It became an entertaining match. But I'm happy I didn't have to break finally in the last game because I was trying for the whole set. Didn't really do that, even though I had chances. But at the end, I'm happy that I stayed solid."

The Suzanne-Lenglen support: “I think that is the first time I had a (Mexican) wave during a match so thank you guys."

About the enjoyment factor: "I think Carlos (Alcaraz) is a great example of how to make it fun. He also has a great game for that. Not everybody has such touch to play such amazing shots.

"But I also feel like when I play good and the ball is listening to me and it's going where I want, it's super fun. This is what we work for, to have these kind of feelings.

"It's good to remember that and to remember how it felt when you were a kid and you were just playing."