Paris: Polish teenager Iga Swiatek (19) completed her incredible run at the French Open on Saturday by winning the title after brushing aside American Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-1 in the final.
At 19, she is the youngest to win the clay court Grand Slam since 12-time men's singles champion Rafael Nadal won his first title in 2005, also at the age of 19.
Swiatek is the first Polish player to win a Grand Slam title and the lowest ranked player to ever win at Roland Garros.
"It's crazy for me because I was watching every year how Rafa lifts the trophy... So it's crazy that I'm in the same place. I want to thank all the fans and the people who are watching in Poland. I know it's pretty crazy back home," she said in her speech after the final against Australian Open champion Kenin.
Ranked 54th, Swiatek became the lowest ranked French Open winner and is the first woman since Justin Henin in 2007 to win the clay court Grand Slam without losing a set.
"I'm so happy and glad that my family was here finally. I don't know, it's just overwhelming for me. Two years ago, I won the junior Grand Slam (at Roland-Garros) and now I'm here," Swiatek said.
"It feels like such a short time. I'm just overwhelmed. Thanks for cheering, it was such an amazing final. I was just mentally consistent, and just wanted to play as aggressively as in the previous rounds. Today it was really stressful for me, so it was kind of hard. Maybe it had to be that another underdog had to win a Grand Slam in women's tennis right now," she signed off.
Djokovic survives Tsitsipas fightback, to face Nadal in final
World no.1 Novak Djokovic survived a fightback from fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in their French Open semi-final to book a title clash against the rampant Rafael Nadal. Djokovic beat Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 4-6 in a match that lasted three hours and 54 minutes.
This was the fourth time in Djokovic's career where he was taken to five sets in the semi-final stage at Roland-Garros.
A double break helped Djokovic take command of the second set and a late break in the third saw him serve for the match at 5-4.
Tsitsipas clung on though, saving a match point before breaking his opponent to draw level, finally converting a break point for the first time in the whole contest, on his 11th opportunity. Djokovic saved set point in game 12 but a sensational Tsitsipas down-the-line forehand winner saw the 22-year-old break again to force a fourth set.
Tsitsipas claimed a fifth game in a row to leap to a 2-0 advantage in the fourth set. But that just prompted Djokovic to snatch the momentum right back as he drew level. From 40-15 up, Djokovic got broken in the 10th game on a netted drop shot attempt to enter a deciding set against Tsitsipas.
He was quick to reverse the momentum in the fifth. Djokovic raced to a double-break lead in the decider and wrapped up the win in three hours and 54 minutes.
Djokovic is chasing an 18th Grand Slam title while Nadal is chasing his 20th.
(IANS)
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