Iga Swiatek wins French Open, bests Coco Gauff in women’s final

PARIS — After two weeks of play at Roland Garros, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and 18-year-old American Coco Gauff met for the title.

Swiatek, the 2020 French Open champion, got her consecutive win No. 35, matching the best run this century, a record held by Venus Williams. More importantly, it gave her a second Grand Slam title and cemented her status as the undisputed world No. 1. Gauff, ranked No. 18 in the world, entered her first Grand Slam final after a dream run where she did not drop a set.

Updates from the match:

History made

Swiatek is celebrating her dominant victory with her family and team in her box, and she ran over to them immediately after the match. With her win, she is now the youngest woman since Maria Sharapova in 2006 to win multiple majors and the first woman since Justine Henin in 2004 to win the first major she played after reaching No. 1. — D’Arcy Maine

35-0 ?#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Tq7u72NWH8

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2022

Coco should be proud

It was an incredible fortnight for Gauff. Of course she will be disappointed right now, but this was a major step forward for her.

“This is the first time for me, so trying to get through this,” Gauff said afterward. “First of all I want to congratulate Iga — what you’ve done is amazing and you deserve it. Hopefully we’ll play each other in more finals and maybe one day I’ll get a win over you. I’d like to thank my team, sorry I couldn’t quite get this one today but thank you guys for all the support. Hopefully this is the first of many.”

If she keeps improving like this, she will surely be back in more Grand Slam finals. — Simon Cambers

The future is bright, @CocoGauff ❤️#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/Txl0IkHoa3

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2022

Swiatek secures French Open title as skies turn

A clap of thunder greeted Swiatek as she served for the match. It was an utterly ruthless performance from the world No. 1 as she saw off Gauff in 1 hour 8 minutes. It was always her title to lose and it was never really in doubt. Swiatek heads up to the stands to greet her team, and soccer star Robert Lewandowski joins the celebrations. Gauff is taking it all in on her own as she sheds a tear. It’s been some tournament from her — she reached her first Grand Slam final. — Tom Hamilton

The weather is turning …

The sky has suddenly become overcast at Roland Garros, with thunderstorms forecast at some stage this afternoon. The floodlights are now on at Court Philippe Chatrier as Gauff starts the second set by breaking Swiatek. — Hamilton

Iga takes the first set

With Swiatek taking the opener, 6-1, in just 32 minutes, this marks Gauff’s first dropped set of the tournament. To make matters worse for Gauff, Swiatek has a 35-4 record in her major career after winning the opening set and is 18-0 at the French Open. — Maine

?? 6-1#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/IQno32byg4

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2022

Swiatek so aggressive

That was a brutal set for Coco Gauff. Swiatek has been all over her second serve. Gauff needs a fast start in the second set to give her the belief. — Cambers

Polish royalty in the stands watching Polish royalty

Soccer player Robert Lewandowski is here in the stadium watching Swiatek. The two are Poland’s most prominent sports stars. Lewandowski has taken a break from national duty to lend his support to Swiatek after he started in the 2-1 win over Wales on Wednesday. — Hamilton

Strong start needed

How important is it to win the opening set in a major final? In good news for Swiatek, who has raced out to an early 3-0 lead, it’s almost a requirement on the women’s side. — Cambers

According to ESPN Stats & Information research, the opening-set winner has won 58 of the past 65 women’s major finals and 18 of the past 20 at the French Open. Simona Halep was the last champion in Paris to have recovered from losing the opening set; she rallied to come back over Sloane Stephens to take the trophy in 2018. — Maine

All about Coco’s second serve

If Gauff can play clean on serve, and by that I mean reducing the number of double faults to a minimum, then she has a genuine chance. The problem is Swiatek is going to be looking to get all over her second serve. So if Gauff wants to win, a high first serve percentage is imperative.

Not surprisingly, Gauff looks nervous. She could do with a few errors early on from Swiatek to help her settle. Not sure if she will get them, though. — Cambers

Setting the stage

The Philippe Chatrier court is still filling up as Swiatek and Gauff walk out to a brilliant reception from the crowd. We’ve already had a visit from Rafa Nadal today ahead of his final tomorrow, and there’s tennis royalty sitting at the front of the president’s box with Billie Jean King in the prime seats. — Hamilton

Tennis royalty ?#RolandGarros | @BillieJeanKing