Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are at the very pinnacle of the women's game, and over the past month, have been battling it out for glory on the clay courts of Madrid and Rome.
The duo have met twice in the finals of the past two WTA 1000 events, with Swiatek coming out on top on both occasions.
Swiatek needed a third-set tie-breaker to win an epic Madrid Open final, though she got the job done in straight sets at the Italian Open, as the Pole made it eight wins to three from her 11 career contests with Sabalenka.
Since 1990, only Steffi Graf and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario have faced each other more often in WTA level clay finals (10 times) than Swiatek and Sabalenka (five), and if the top two seeds get their way at Roland-Garros, they will be vying it out for the 2024 French Open title in two weeks' time.
Sensational Swiatek hunts a treble
Swiatek, who does not turn 23 until Friday, already has three French Open titles under her belt, having won in 2020, 2022 and 2023.
The Pole is aiming to become the third player in the Open Era to win the women's singles title at Roland-Garros for three consecutive years, after Monica Seles (1990-92) and Justine Henin (2005-07).
She is one of six players in the Open Era to have won the title without dropping a set, a feat she managed at the 2020 edition. The other players on that list are: Evonne Goolagong (1971), Billie Jean King (1972), Chris Evert (1974), Steffi Graf (1988), and Henin (2006-07).
Margaret Court holds the best winning percentage in the women's singles at Roland-Garros in the Open Era, at 95.2 per cent. Among active players, with a minimum of 10 matches played, Swiatek (93.3 per cent) holds the highest winning percentage at the event.
Swiatek was 19 when she won her first French Open crown, joining Jelena Ostapenko (2017) as the only teenagers to triumph at Roland-Garros since the turn of the century.
Last year, Swiatek claimed a third women’s singles title at Roland-Garros from five appearances in the main draw at the event. In the Open Era, only Court (three out of four, 75 per cent) holds a better title win rate from main draws entered at the tournament.
Since the WTA-1000 format’s introduction in 2009, Swiatek could become only the second player to claim victory at the Madrid Open, Italian Open and Roland-Garros in a calendar year after Serena Williams (2013).
The world number one will start her campaign against Leolia Jeanjean, and has already scooped four titles this year, taking her overall tally to 21.
The omens are not great for Jeanjean. In the Open Era, the top seed in the women’s singles at Roland-Garros has lost in the opening round only once, with Angelique Kerber falling to Ekaterina Makarova in 2017.
"I feel like I keep having a target on my back, because I'm No. 1," Swiatek said on Friday.
"So, I think actually I'm more proud of what's happening right now, and winning all these titles this year already has shown that we are going on the right path."
Third time lucky for Sabalenka?
In the event that Swiatek and second seed Sabalenka meet in the final, it will be the fifth clay-court meeting between the pair as the WTA’s number one and number two, surpassing Martina Navratilova and Evert for the most meetings on the surface in the past 40 years as the WTA’s top two-ranked players.
Given her recent misfortune against Swiatek, mind, Sabalenka will no doubt be hoping the reigning champion falters this time around, leaving her with a clearer run to glory.
The Belarusian could become the first player to claim the women’s singles titles at the Australian Open and Roland-Garros in a calendar year since Williams in 2015.
Sabalenka, who is the player with the most winners on clay in 2024 (447), has already reached four finals this season, only to come up short in three of them. Erika Andreeva is her first-round opponent.
The other challengers
It is not just Swiatek and Sabalenka that will be gunning for glory in Paris over the next fortnight.
Coco Gauff is looking to become the youngest American woman to win the singles title at the French Open since Evert in 1975, while only Swiatek (36) has won more WTA main draw matches than Elena Rybakina in 2024 (30).
World number three Gauff, who lost to Swiatek in the French Open final two years ago, could become the fourth player since 2000 to make multiple finals at Roland-Garros before turning 21, along with Kim Clijsters, Ana Ivanovic and Swiatek.
Meanwhile, either Rybakina or Marketa Vondrousova could become the fifth player since 2000 to win both Wimbledon and Roland-Garros, along with Ashleigh Barty, Garbine Muguruza, Maria Sharapova and Williams. That's not bad company to be keeping.
Having reached three grand slam finals across 2022 and 2023, Ons Jabeur has endured a frustrating season so far, dropping to world number nine just ahead of 2017 champion Ostapenko, heading into what promises to be an enthralling battle.
Retiring at Wimbledon or the Olympics would be fitting, says Murray
Andy Murray has said it would be fitting to call time on his glistening tennis career at Wimbledon or the Paris Olympics this year.
The 37-year-old has prevailed in both competitions during his professional career, becoming the first British winner of the men's singles title since Fred Perry in 1936 at Wimbledon in 2013.
Murray also won gold on two occasions for Team GB in London 12 years ago and the Rio games in 2016. But when asked if he would compete in the US Open or the Davis Cup, he said: "I don’t think so.
"Probably if I was going to finish my career I would rather finish at Wimbledon or an Olympic Games - to me that would probably be more fitting."
"I've had amazing experiences and memories from Wimbledon, but also being part of British Olympics teams."
The former world number one will take part in the Queen's Club Championships and faces Alexei Popyrin on Monday, but revealed that he will not be playing as much over the next few months.
He said: "My plans haven't really changed. I'm not planning to playing much past this summer. I'll see how I feel in the next couple of weeks. There are lots of things to factor in to retirement from sport.
"I think in lots of careers, retirement is something you celebrate and people really look forward to that day – that's not something I feel. I love playing tennis.
"Ultimately, if physically you're not able to play to the level you want to, the results are not as you wish, those things factor into the decision."
Boulter retains Nottingham Open title with comeback win over Pliskova
Katie Boulter successfully defended her Nottingham Open title on Sunday, coming from a set down to beat Karolina Pliskova 4-6 6-3 6-2 in the final.
With both players having to play two matches in one day, Pliskova started strong, powering through the first set in just 39 minutes before the the physical toll started to kick in.
Boulter found her second wave though, fighting back to force a decider in which she broke the Czech's serve three times to seal the victory.
It was a long day for Boulter, who came out on top in an all-British semi-final earlier in the day against Emma Raducanu in three sets after their semi-final was suspended on Saturday due to bad weather.
Raducanu won the first set after 80 minutes in a tie-break, but she could not pick up where she left off on Sunday, as Boulter came from behind to win 6-7 (13-15) 6-3 6-4.
Meanwhile, Liudmila Samsonova won her first title of the season after also coming from a set down to defeat Bianca Andreescu 4-6 6-3 7-5 in the Libema Open final at 's-Hertogenbosch.
Data Debrief: Boulter powers through marathon day
Boulter and Pliskova had split their first four meetings, and all five of their matches have gone the distance to a decisive third set.
The Briton won 77 per cent of her service games (10/13), while also winning 43 per cent of her return games (6/14), double the amount of Pliskova.
Draper claims first career title as Berrettini beaten in Stuttgart
Jack Draper won his first ATP Tour title by fighting back to beat Matteo Berrettini in the BOSS Open final in Stuttgart, ahead of becoming British number one for the first time on Monday.
Draper had already ensured he will become Britain's top player in the ATP rankings by reaching the showpiece match in Germany with back-to-back wins over Americans Francis Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima.
Former Wimbledon runner-up Berrettini took Sunday's opener in just 33 minutes, but Draper fought back in a near-hour-long second set as the momentum shifted.
Draper failed to convert two set points at 5-4 and the first of two in the tiebreak, but he never looked back after levelling things up.
A break in the seventh game was enough to take the decider as Draper triumphed 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4, serving a huge ace – his 12th of the contest – on match point.
Data Debrief: Draper follows in Murray's footsteps
Draper will crack the world's top 30 after claiming his maiden title in his third ATP final, having previously lost to Adrian Mannarino at last year's Sofia Open and Jiri Lehecka at January's Adelaide Open.
He will also become his country's top male player at the age of 22 years and 269 days, making him the youngest British number one since Andy Murray in November 2009.
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