Iga Świątek has completed the task. The biggest "nightmare" is waiting just around the corner
Let us recall that in the case of Iga Świątek, the tournament played on the Roland Garros courts is one of the most enjoyable moments in the calendar. The Polish tennis player feels very good in Paris, as she has already proven many times during the Grand Slam competition in France.
The Pole's opponent in Friday's third-round match was Jaqueline Cristian. The Romanian reached this stage, certainly surprising the experts. In the case of Świątek's opponent, we are talking about a player currently ranked 60th in the WTA rankings.
Paradoxically, although Świątek is number 5 , it's hard to call it a walk in the park in Friday's competition. The Pole started the match with a quick 3:0, breaking her opponent's serve in the second game (2:0). Świątek broke the Romanian twice, closing the first set with a score of 6:2 after 35 minutes of play.
The second set was completely different. It was enough to look at the watch, after a little over half an hour of play the scoreboard was only 2:2. What's more, the Pole had to defend herself strongly against the offensive of Cristian - who was eager to make the match last at least a set longer.
In the fifth game (score 2:2), the Pole had to defend four break points, doing so effectively, but this set lasted well over 10 minutes. The Romanian was also able to withstand the pressure of the Pole, defending herself from a break in the eighth game (score 3:4). Cristian was certainly able to positively surprise with her game that day, at times not only the fans, but Świątek herself.
Ultimately, however, the Pole showed class in a strong exchange of blows. In the most difficult set played so far at RG 2025, Świątek triumphed 7:5, breaking Cristian just before – it seemed – an inevitably approaching tie-break.
For the Pole, it was a solid, important test before the next challenges. Valuable, especially considering the final result.
In the fourth round, the Polish tennis player will have a really big challenge. Świątek's opponent will be either Jelena Ostapenko - a "nightmare" against whom the Pole cannot win (score 0:6) - or Jelena Rybakina. The Latvian and the Kazakh will play a blockbuster match of the third round on Friday, late afternoon. One thing is certain, regardless of the result, the sporting difficulties are beginning for the defending title of the best singles player of the last three editions of RG.
Iga Świątek and all her championship titlesIn her career so far, the Polish player has won a total of 22 championship titles on courts almost all over the world.
Świątek has won five Grand Slam titles, four times at Roland Garros (2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024) and once at the US Open (2022). In addition, she won the prestigious WTA Finals (2023).
In addition, wins in WTA 1000 tournaments, respectively in: Rome (2021, 2022, 2024), Doha (2022 and 2024), Indian Wells (2022 and 2024), Miami (2022), Beijing (2023) and Madrid (2024).
The list also includes WTA 500 competitions, in Adelaide (2021), Stuttgart (2022 and 2023), San Diego (2022) and the aforementioned Doha (2023). Plus a Polish accent, WTA 250 in Warsaw (2023).
After the Olympic tournament in Paris (2024), the bronze medal of the games should be added to this list. The first medal in the history of Polish Olympism drawn from competition on tennis courts.
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