After spending so much of her third French Open final in the lead and in control, Iga Swiatek was suddenly in trouble. Swiatek had led Karolina Muchova from the very beginning and appeared en route to a comfortable victory until nerves struck. As unforced errors sprayed from her racket and doubt festered in Swiatek’s head, Muchova’s varied, soulful game soared. Having led the final 6-2, 3-0, the top seed found herself trailing 0-2 in the third set and fighting for her life.
Even as Swiatek struggled to put forehands into court and the crowd chanted her opponent’s name, she never panicked. She maintained her composure and dug deep into her mental reserves, keeping her nerve after two hours, 46 minutes of unfiltered drama to defeat Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 and win her fourth grand slam title.
