Staff Writer
Iga Swiatek established a commanding lead in the French Open final, overcame a confidence crisis in the second set and a deficit in the third set, then found her bearings to beat Karolina Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 on Saturday to win her third victory at Roland Garros and fourth Grand Slam title.
In barely 10 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier, the No. 1-ranked Swiatek jumped out to a 3-0 lead, winning 12 of the first 15 points. She also led 3-0 in the second set before Muchova added some intrigue.
Muchova won five of six games to tie the match at one set apiece while Swiatek appeared off-balance and sought instruction from her coach in between points. Muchova maintained her momentum throughout the decisive set.
At that point, Swiatek resumed playing her typical style of crisp, clean tennis, darting across the red clay with excellent defense and profiting from Muchova’s constant errors. However, Swiatek once again found herself behind 4-3 in the third set before winning the final three games.
