Obstacles to defending the title. Competitor analysis of IGA Cheviotech in Paris.
The official draw ceremony for the Roland Garros main draw took place on Thursday. During the women’s portion of the event, the two-time winner of the event – Iga Świątek – appeared on the stage.
See also: Roland Garros: Iga Swiatek – Kristina Buxa. When is the match? when?
– I love this party. This is my favorite tournament of the whole season. Before you start, I always have an extra motivation to train harder. I can’t imagine not being here. I enjoy playing these fields. I love paris. I’m excited to be here again – said Iga Świątek during the ceremony.
There was a time for smiles, pictures with two cups and handshakes. Now all that remains is to fight for the third title on the courts of Roland Garros. A difficult task awaits Poland. When she won the cup last year, she was at her best. Shvetek had no rival who could truly threaten her. In the final of the tournament, she defeated the helpless Coco Gauff in just over an hour, winning her 35th straight victory.
This season is a little different. While Świątek still had a great disposal, competitors from the top ten started to really vie for it. Arina Sabalenka is finally stepping up with the model. The Belarusian broke a series of defeats in matches against a Polish woman and in the final of the tournament in Madrid managed to beat the leader of the standings. However, it wasn’t just the world’s second missile that found a way to defeat Świątek. The real stumbling block for the Polish woman in the current Games is Jelena Rybakina. Just this year, Kazaszka has won with Raszynianka three times.
An additional burden for our player may be the matter of defending the ranking points. In Paris, Świątek will defend 2,000 points. If he wins the entire tournament for the third time, he will definitely still be number one. However, if she is eliminated before the quarter-final match and Aryna Sabalenka comes into the tournament, the Belarusian will become the new leader in the ranking. The second racket of the world will also jump Świątek if she wins the entire tournament, regardless of the result of the Polish woman.
Such a scenario was not taken into account by the staff and Świątek itself. Polka is the queen of the Parisian courts. Nowhere else has it been done like the French capital. It was here that she reached her first Grand Slam title and will definitely want to do it for the third time in her career. Who will the Polish woman fight for the cup? Susan Lenglen?
Świątek’s first match should be a formality. In the first round of the tournament, the Pole met an unseeded player, thus receiving a much lower rank. It will be Christina Buxa. The Spaniard of Moldovan descent is currently the 67th tennis player in the world. The Polish woman has already had the opportunity to compete with her this season. At the Australian Open held at the beginning of the year, the leader of the ranking simply defeated her opponent, winning 6: 0, 6: 1. The course of the duel was so one-sided that the Polish woman, who was in average condition at that time, knocked out Buxa in less than hour. This time, it might be similar. What then?
If Claire Liu does not surprise her audience in a negative way and wins the qualifying match, the American will be Iga’s opponent in the second round of the tournament. Here, too, the Polish woman should not have any major problems. Both of the previous duels ended in victory for Svetek. At this year’s edition of Indian Wells, the leader of the ranking in just over an hour defeated Liu in two sets.
There are certainly more potential competitors in the third round of the Paris Slam. The Polish woman could face Rebecca Peterson, Xinyu Wang, Maria Bouzkova or one of the qualifiers. The most likely scenario is a clash with Bouzkova. The penultimate among the ranked players, Česzka, should not threaten the leader of the ranking.
Staircases will start as more demanding competitors from Round 4. There are three real possibilities here. Polish women may encounter Victoria Azarenka or Bianca Andreescu. The most likely scenario, however, would be a fight for the quarterfinals with Barbora Krejkova. The 13th tennis player in the world is not considered one of Poland’s favorite rivals. The Czech women defeated her in the last two matches, and their share was two finals – in Ostrava and Dubai. Krejcikova feels great on the Parisian courts. Two years ago, I reached the title of champion of the tournament.
If Iga overtakes the Czech Republic, the fight for the semi-finals could theoretically be easier than the fourth-round match. The Polish woman at this stage of the tournament can beat Coco Gauff or Weronika Kudermietowa. The American qualified for the finals last year, but this season she is doing better in doubles than in singles. In addition, in the previous six matches between Iga and Gauff, the Polish woman won each time without dropping a set. The leader of the ranking should have no problems with Kudermetova. The Russian’s qualification to the quarterfinals will be a big surprise.
The real test awaits Świątek in the semi-finals. Assuming the most likely scenario, the Polish woman will meet Jelena Rybakina. As mentioned at the beginning of the material, Kazaszka is damned the leader of the standings in the current season. Rybakina turned out to be better than Iga at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and during the last tournament in Rome, when the Polish woman retired due to injury. So our player will have a perfect opportunity to avenge three defeats in a row. Another candidate who is less likely to play in the semi-finals could be Anas Jaber. The scale of the difficulty in the event of a clash with a Tunisian is definitely smaller than the competition against Rybakina.
Considering that the Polish player will play for Kazaska on her favorite surface during the tournament in which she loves to play, the probability of qualifying for the final is still very high. If this happens, Aryna Sabalenka will likely have to wait for Świątek. The word “maybe” is key here. Yes, she defeated the Belarusian leader on clay in the tournament final in Madrid, but after a moment during the struggle in Rome, on the same surface, she was eliminated in the first round. Its shape is questionable. If the vice-leader of the world list is up to the task and reaches the level, then a possible final match with a Polish woman will be a direct showdown for the position of the best tennis player in the WTA ranking.
Carol Patek, Polsat Sport
