Polish teenage tennis prodigy Iga Swiatek didn’t just defeat Sofia Kenin at Roland Garros. She dominated her to capture her first career Grand Slam in remarkable fashion in a one-sided French Open final.
Swiatek hammered Kenin with a barrage of stunning passing shots to claim the title 6-4, 6-1 and become Poland’s first Grand Slam champion.
The 19-year-old started fast, and raced into a 3-0 lead before Kenin fought back. But the Pole wouldn’t be denied as she found her consistency to claim the first set.
The second set was even more clear-cut as she blasted past Kenin 6-1 to become the first player to win the women’s title without dropping a single set throughout the tournament since Justine Henin back in 2007.
After her dominant victory, Swiatek admitted that she couldn’t quite comprehend her achievement.
“I’m overwhelmed,” she said.
“Two years ago I won a junior grand slam and now I’m here. It feels like such a short time.”
How does it feel, @iga_swiatek? ?#RolandGarrospic.twitter.com/sSSA3cWiJC
Swiatek’s triumph also marked the occasion of the lowest-ranked women’s player to win the title since rankings were introduced back in 1975, and she said that her success was something of a trend in tennis right now, as a host of underdogs have started to enjoy success in major matches.
“It had to be like that, another underdog won a Grand Slam in women’s tennis,” she said.
“It is so often right now that it is crazy.”
