Iga Swiatek will be looking to join a select band of players who have lifted the Suzanne Lenglen Cup four times when she begins the defence of her French Open title next week.
Since tennis turned professional in 1968, Chris Evert, Steffi Graf and Justine Henin have been the only women to have claimed at least four titles at Roland Garros and on current form few would bet against Swiatek adding her name to that illustrious list come June 8.
After securing back-to-back titles in WTA 1000 events in Madrid and Rome, the world number one will come out swinging in Paris on the back of a 12-match winning streak as she chases a fourth triumph in five years at the claycourt major.
Also on the line will be pulling off a rare ‘Triple Crown’ – with the 22-year-old bidding to become the first player since Serena Williams in 2013 to win the Madrid-Rome-Paris titles in the same season.
“She lives to play on clay… She’s playing really well, so it’s going to be tough to beat her,” twice Rome champion Elina Svitolina told the WTA.
American great Martina Navratilova summed up why Swiatek is such a formidable force on red dirt.
“She’s been Chris Evert-like. That topspin drives you nuts and I think she moves as good as anybody. Clay, she’s got that down to perfection, the sliding and the movement and recovery,” the 18-time Grand Slam champion was quoted as saying by the WTA.
“Just wears you out from the baseline, playing aggressive. She’s got the consistency and the major wins. That’s why she’s been No.1 for so long. Paris is the perfect venue for her game.”
“I feel like I’m in a different place. I’m still focusing on the same things but I remember last year I was more nervous and more stressed. I felt more pressure. This time I’m kind of using the way I feel to just enjoy everything more,” Swiatek said.
“I just want to stay in my rhythm, stay in my zone, be focused.”
She also knows she will have a target on her back but is ready to face that challenge.
“I’m No. 1 so I’m the favourite everywhere if you look at rankings. But rankings don’t play, so … I’ll do everything step by step and we’ll see.”
However, should any of the “Big Three” on the women’s tour falter at Roland Garros, there are a few promising contenders ready to step up.
American Danielle Collins, ranked 12th, will be eyeing a shot at a first Grand Slam title to cap off a barnstorming final year on the tour, after announcing in January that she would retire at the end of the season.
The 30-year-old has been playing some of the best tennis of her career, winning 15 straight matches before losing to Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open last month, during which she claimed a first-ever Masters 1000 title at the Miami Open as well as the Charleston Open title.
She also reached the semi-finals of the Italian Open, where she was once again beaten by Sabalenka but, despite the defeat, it is clear the American’s stock is on the rise.
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“It’s really up and down sometimes and it’s not always inch by inch by inch going up,” Collins told reporters during her Italian Open campaign.
“It’s been nice, like, to have a stretch where I’ve really been climbing because it’s not always like that. I think you have to be really happy for yourself in these moments because it doesn’t always work out that way.”
Tunisian Jabeur, who has struggled in the first half of the season, failed to win more than one match in any of the first seven tournaments she has played.
Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko is another player whose career seems revived, with the Latvian having climbed back into the top 10 after struggling following her 2017 Grand Slam victory.