Iga Swiatek may be in the third round of the French Open, but the way in which she got to that point was far from smooth sailing.
Admittedly, Leolia Jeajean simply was not on her level, losing 6-1, 6-2, but with Naomi Osaka, tennis fans knew they had a blockbuster second-round clash on their hands.
Fortunately, it did not disappoint, and with the Japanese star just one point away from removing the world number one from her Roland Garros throne, she showcased her grit to come back from 5-2 down in the third to win 6-7, 6-1, 5-7.
Swiątek is unstoppable, and a pure winning machine.
And, in beating Osaka, she has actually made history once again as the French Open draw continues to be culled.
Iga Swiatek makes history once again
Her latest feat is detailed by Tennis.com, who took to X to quantify just how impressive Swiatek has been since the turn of the decade.
They write: ‘With her win over Naomi Osaka in the second round of Roland Garros today, @iga_swiatek is still the ONLY woman to reach the third round or better at EVERY SINGLE GRAND SLAM THIS DECADE.
‘That’s 17 Grand Slams in a row and counting since the start of 2020.’
A truly remarkable achievement, the consistency with which she grinds out results is unlikely anything we have seen for some time in the women’s game.
She will now surely be more confident than ever of retaining her French Open title, whilst Osaka has admitted she cried after the loss in a revealing but brilliant post-match interview.
Can anyone beat Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros?
The short answer on whether anyone can beat Swiatek in Paris seems to be no, but Osaka did offer a seminar on how to push her to the limit.
Twice now has Aryna Sabalenka met the world number one in the final of a Masters 1000 event this year, and twice she has been defeated.
If her thunderous hitting does not disturb Swiatek then nothing will.
However, what was particularly impressive about Osaka’s performance was her serving, as she posted an impressive eight serves, putting 62% of her first serves in, and 73% of her second serves.
Then, when she earned the chance to strike, she converted 56% of her break points whilst fighting off Swiatek, whose number in that area was at a disappointing 20%.
Realistically, it will take one of the top players to perform at their very best to stop the Polish powerhouse.
And even then, as Osaka was shown last night, it still might not be enough.
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