Former seven-time Grand Slam Mats Wilander feels Iga Swiatek is now even a bigger favorite for the French Open than she was at the start of the tournament.Â
Swiatek, who arrived to the French Open on a 28-match winning streak, has been through to the last-16 at Roland Garros and now she has won her last 31 matches.Â
There have been several big surprised in the women’s event so far as Paula Badosa, Barbora Krejcikova, Anett Kontaveit, Maria Sakkari, Simona Halep and Aryna Sabalenka have all crashed out.Â
“She is becoming the bigger and bigger favourite every match she plays,” Wilander said on Eurosport. “Yes when the other women from the top 10 are falling out of the tournament, on paper it makes it easier. There are some big hitters around, but it is women’s tennis in the last five, six years and it is very unpredictable. But the most predictable player we have had in the last few years is Iga Swiatek. She has won 31 matches in a row and is very predictable, especially on a clay court.”
Swiatek survived the Danka Kovinic test
On Saturday, Swiatek defeated Kovinic 6-3 7-5 to progress into the last-16 at Roland Garros.Â
After winning the first set, Swiatek was 4-1 up in the second set.Â
However, Kovinic refused to quit as she claimed back-to-back breaks and took a 5-4 lead in the second set.Â
Losing four consecutive games didn’t impact Swiatek, who won the following three games to close out the match in straight sets.
Swiatek plays Zheng Qinven in her next French Open match.
“I have heard some other players talking about her. I’m sure that she’s in the right place for her to be, because she’s playing really well. Even when she lost some matches, people were really saying that she has a talent,” Swiatek said of Zheng.
Swiatek lifted her first and lone Grand Slam title at the French Open in 2020.