[ad_1]
The 2020 French Open delivered a winner for the first time who dominated the tournament. The featured performance highlights my four thoughts from the women’s final.
Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
• There are advances and then there are raids. At the 2020 French Open, we got an example of the latter. Ranked outside of the top 50 and without a professional title in her short career, Iga Swiatek arrived in Paris and swept the box, without losing sets. The 19-year-old Pole completed her unlikely assault on the field Saturday afternoon with a balanced 6-4, 6-1 dismantlement of American Sofia Kenin in the final. In the most important match of his life, he maintained his level, uniting the art of the court with undeniable power and crushing an opponent.
Swiatek becomes the first Polish player, male or female, to win a major. She becomes the first player ranked outside of the top 50 to win this event. (She will be in the top 20 when qualifying comes out on Monday.) He teams up with a small handful of players to win without losing a set. And she becomes the newest star on the WTA.
• Two sources of extra credit for Swiatek. 1) He has not apologized for his work with a sports psychologist, Dr. Daria Abramowicz, who was part of the entourage. A break from previous generations who treated mental health as taboo, Swiatek is rightly outspoken about the mental dimension of sports. And Abramowicz had some great advice after Swiatek’s semi-final win: don’t look at your phone. 2) Swiatek plays a mediocre singles and doubles game; and is not afraid of the moonlight. We can debate whether it was smart of him to play a 150-minute doubles match on the eve of the biggest singles match of his career. But it can be argued that it’s the perfect way to spend the day: focused on the competition and building up pressure while scrolling your mentions.
• As for Kenin … she is a secret hidden in plain sight. The salon is rightly optimistic about Coco Gauff, 16, and Amanda Anisimova, 19. But there is a third young American, who simply resides on another level from the other two at the moment. Kenin was one game away from becoming the first WTA player since 2016 (Angie Kerber) to win multiple Majors in one year.
Kenin might not be the picture of charm when he plays, flailing himself after missing shots, glancing at his ubiquitous father for guidance, and barking raggedly “come on.” But compete honestly. She makes up for her small stature with a huge heart. And she couldn’t be more accessible and honest when the game is over. It’s an enduring mystery why she doesn’t get more attention, especially since she’s compiled a year that prepares her for the Hall of Fame nomination. Hopefully your profile keeps pace with your achievements.
• The craziest stat of the tournament: out of the 32 seeds on the women’s side, there were only four games in which one seeded faced another, a clear example of how heavy this tournament was. Some of this is a function of the absences. The defending champion, Ash Barty, chose not to participate. Last month’s US Open winner Naomi Osaka chose not to participate. The US Open winner before that, Bianca Andreescu, is still rehabbing. Serena Williams, a three-time champion in Paris, retired after her first match. Some of this is due to the rise of the underdog. And some to players like Swiatek, who are far better than their non-seeded ranking suggests.
But here comes the tennis chaos theory…. In the end, we were left with a 19-year-old careerist with a full set to match her full personality. And a 21-year-old American, who can’t bear to lose, playing in the final of her second Major in 2020. Overall, a satisfying and logical conclusion to a most unsatisfactory and illogical season.
[ad_2]
