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A new winning face in tennis: 19-year-old Iga Swiatek. © APA / afp / THOMAS SAMSON
Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek unexpectedly won the French Open and with it the first Grand Slam title of her career.
October 10, 2020
The 19-year-old won Saturday’s final in Paris against Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin of the US 6: 4, 6: 1. Never before has a professional tennis player from Poland won the title at the female or male competition in one of the four most important tournaments. For his victory, Swiatek receives a cash prize of 1.6 million euros, while Kenin receives 850,500 euros.
“I don’t know what’s going on right now”
Iga Swiatek
The world ranking 54. Swiatek was the first player since Justine Henin of Belgium to win the victory at Roland Garros in 2007 without losing a single set. When Swiatek used his first match ball with a forehand after 1:24 hours on the Philippe Chatrier court, he knelt down and grasped the racket with both hands. He shook his head, covered his eyes and mouth, and finally leapt across the plaza with his arms raised, thanking the few spectators allowed on center court.
“I don’t know what is happening at the moment. I’m so happy, it’s just overwhelming, “Swiatek said in an interview on the field before he had to interrupt her later, overwhelmed by her emotions.
The Warsaw teenager played carefree in recent weeks and was impressed with his aggressive and bold playing style from the first round.
Sick Sofia Kenin had a hard time with Iga Swiatek. © APA / afp / MARTIN BUREAU
In the final against world number six Kenin, Swiatek got off to a turbo start. He quickly took the lead 3-0, dominated the rallies and won the first round after 48 minutes. In the second set, Kenin had to seek treatment and took a three-minute medical break. Seemingly not in full possession of her powers, the 21-year-old no longer had enough to oppose her opponent, so Swiatek capped her sensational tournament run with the title and was allowed to lift the silver trophy at 4. : 50 pm
The Warsaw native completed her high school diploma this spring and has since devoted herself entirely to her tennis career. She comes from a family of athletes: her father Tomasz Swiatek represented the Polish team as a rower at the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988. It was also her father who came up with the idea of tennis for his daughters. “My sister Agata, who was three years older than me, played first. I saw her and envied her, ”Iga Swiatek recalled recently in an interview with Wyborcza Gazeta.
The President of Poland is delighted
While the sister trained, she and her father hit balls back and forth on the edge of the tennis court. Later, her father was always the one who encouraged her to train, although she often did not feel like it as a child, the French Open winner recently told the portal Sports channel. When the Polish national anthem sounded on Saturday afternoon and Swiatek’s eyes shone on the protection of his mouth and nose, the problems were forgotten.
Polish President Andrzej Duda congratulated the winner of the French Open a few minutes after the end of the game. “Thank you very much and congratulations to Iga Swiatek! A historic day for Poland, Polish sport and Polish tennis. Bravo! ”Duda wrote on his social media channels.
Author: apa / fop
