World No. 1 Iga Swiatek is the heavy favourite to win the French Open as she has not lost a match since February. She eased through the first round and faces Alison Riske in the second round on Tuesday. Seven-time Grand Slam champion Mats Wilander has been hugely impressed with Swiatek and says “her forehand is easily the best on the women’s tour”.
Mats Wilander believes Iga Swiatek does not have “any weaknesses” in her game at the moment – but is unsure if she will dominate women’s tennis for years to come.
World No. 1 Swiatek is the heavy favourite to win the French Open after she entered the tournament on a 28-match winning streak, having not lost since February.
She breezed through her first-round match against Lesia Tsurenko and faces Alison Riske on Wednesday.
Swiatek made her breakthrough at the French Open in 2020 and Wilander thinks she has the quality to add another Grand Slam title to her resume in Paris.
“To me Iga Swiatek does not have any weaknesses right now, especially on the clay,” seven-time major winner Wilander told Eurosport.
“She moves incredibly well, her forehand is easily the best on the women’s tour, she defends extremely well in her backhand corner, she knows how to come to the net and the best part about her right now is she is playing each point with a purpose, she is not getting upset with herself or down on herself when things don’t go her way; and she is dominating all the players on different surfaces.”
Swiatek’s incredible winning run is the longest since Serena Williams won 34 matches in a row in 2013.
If Swiatek wins the French Open she would equal Venus Williams’ streak of 35 consecutive victories, which is the longest this century on the WTA Tour.
However, Wilander is not sure Swiatek can dominate women’s tennis in the same way the Williams sisters did.
“I don’t think in professional tennis it is possible to dominate too much, especially on the women’s tour.
“Everybody is hitting the ball so hard, you are going to have good periods and then you will have some periods when you are not feeling 100% and not feeling the ball.
“For Iga’s sake I hope I am wrong. She is going to be one of the favourites to win every Grand Slam over the next five or six years at least but to dominate is a big word to use in today’s tennis world.”
