Iga Swiatek could end her French Open career with a record to rival Rafael Nadal’s, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo believes.
The Pole cemented her status as one of the best women’s players on clay in recent decades by winning her third title in four years just after her 22nd birthday.
That matches the career progression of Nadal almost to the day, although Swiatek has one US Open title while the Spaniard won on his first four visits to Roland Garros.
“Her record is very impressive, just like Rafa’s record was when he started,” said former world number one Mauresmo.
“Three titles in four editions is huge, it’s very impressive. I think we’re still a little bit far away from the 14 titles but, when Rafa started, no-one also thought he would get to 14 so anything can happen.”
Swiatek found herself really tested for the first time in a grand slam final, twice coming from a break down in the deciding set to beat Karolina Muchova 6-2 5-7 6-4.
She is not looking too far ahead, saying: “I’m just happy with what happened during these past few weeks. I don’t know what I’m capable of.
“So I will work day by day to play the best game possible and to develop as a player. I’m not setting any crazy records or goals for myself. I know that keeping it cool is the best way to do it for me. I’m trying more to do that.”
Swiatek has not had things all her own way this season, with a couple of injuries disrupting her schedule, while Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have raised their game to create what has been described as a big three of women’s tennis.
Sabalenka could have overtaken Swiatek in the rankings in Paris, and the Belarusian will have high hopes of doing so on the grass, where she has been much stronger than her rival in the past.
Swiatek did not shy away from talking herself up in comparison to Sabalenka and Rybakina, saying: “I look at my clay-court season and I see on every tournament I really played consistently.
“I reached quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals, I won Stuttgart, I won this tournament. I’m just focused on myself and I don’t care about the other two players.”
For Muchova, it was a bitter-sweet experience, with the Czech handling herself extremely well in her first grand slam final but falling short when the match looked like it was almost in her grasp.
What will give a lot of confidence to the 26-year-old, who will be ranked at a career-high 16 on Monday, is that clay is her least favourite surface.
“I wouldn’t expect it that much on the clay, honestly,” she said. “I look forward to playing on the grass, on the fast surfaces. It’s just nice to know that I can play on the clay great as well.
“This was my last clay tournament. It could have ended up a little bit better, but it was still pretty great.”
It was one of the best endings to a women’s grand slam in recent years, with both semi-finals bringing high quality and drama before a very good final.
There has been a lot of focus again in Paris on the scheduling, with the one-match night session featuring women only once for the second year in a row.
Mauresmo defended the decision-making, insisting other slots considered prime time featured more women’s matches this year.
Organisers do not want matches finishing in the early hours of the morning like they routinely do at the Australian Open and US Open, and Mauresmo admitted the possibility of a quick two-set women’s contest is a key factor in favouring men.
Swiatek, meanwhile, revealed she prefers playing in the day and had requested not to play at night.
“This doesn’t make also our life easier,” said Mauresmo. “I’m comfortable with the scheduling in the day but, yes, we can do better on the night matches.”
Alcaraz matches Nadal record as reigning champion scrapes into Madrid Open quarters
Jan-Lennard Struff made life difficult for Carlos Alcaraz, but the reigning Madrid Champion eventually made it through.
Alcaraz had won both of his opening games with the minimum of fuss, but he needed three sets to get beyond Struff, who won a second-set tie-break.
However, Alcaraz eventually prevailed in the decider, clinching a 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-4) victory.
Alcaraz, who is in the hunt for a third straight title in Madrid, will now face seventh-seed Andrey Rublev for a place in the last four.
Data Debrief: Prodigal son matches the master
There have been plenty of comparisons between Alcaraz and his fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal.
And with his win on Tuesday, Alcaraz matched Nadal's record for the longest winning run at the Madrid Open, at 14 matches, since the tournament began in 2002.
Sinner fights back to reach first Madrid Open quarter-final
Jannik Sinner has booked his place in the Madrid Open quarter-final, going the distance to beat Karen Khachanov 5-7 6-3 6-3 on Tuesday.
The top seed dropped a set for the first time at the tournament as an in-form Khachanov, but he shook off the concerns of a lingering hip injury to make a comeback.
After winning the second set, he then saved both break points he faced in the decider, finishing off a contest that lasted over two hours.
Sinner has reached the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time and will face either Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime next.
Data debrief: Sinner overcomes first big test
Not only has the 22-year-old become the only player to reach the quarter-final at all four Master 1000 events in 2024, but he is the first to achieve that feat since Milos Raonic in 2016.
Sinner has also become the first Italian player to make the quarter-finals of all three existing ATP Masters 1000 events on clay, since 2009 when the Madrid Open took the place of the Hamburg Masters.
Swiatek battles back to reach Madrid Open semi-finals
Iga Swiatek has booked her place in the Madrid Open semi-finals after battling back from a set down to defeat Beatriz Haddad Maia.
The top seed, who made it to the final last year, dropped a set for the first time in this tournament before recovering to win 4-6 6-0 6-2 in a match that lasted just short of two-and-a-half hours.
These two players met in the French Open semi-finals last year and 11th seed Haddad Maia was eyeing an upset when she fought back from 4-1 down to claim the opener.
But Swiatek dropped serve just once in the next two sets as she assumed full control and swept to victory, powered by winning eight straight games from the start of the second set.
Data Debrief: Swiatek statistics up there with the best
Up next for Swiatek will be a last-four clash against either Ons Jabeur or Madison Keys, who play later on Tuesday. That will be her 15th WTA 1000 semi-final appearance since 2020, with no other player having made it to double figures (Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari are the next best on eight each).
Beating Haddad Maia also means Swiatek has equalled Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova as the fastest player to reach 25 WTA 1000 wins on clay, doing so in just 29 matches.
And Swiatek's emphatic second set saw her tie Coco Gauff for the most number of 6-0 sets won so far this year. They both have seven, just ahead of Sabalenka (five).
Defending champion Sabalenka plays Mirra Andreeva in the last eight on Wednesday after battling past Danielle Collins in three sets. All three of her wins so far have been in deciding sets.
The other last-eight clash is between Elena Rybakina and Yulia Putintseva.
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