Iga Swiatek crashes out of French Open after demanding changes | Tennis | Sport
Iga Swiatek has lost in the fourth round of the French Open (Image: Getty)
Iga Swiatek is out of the French Open after she was outclassed by Marta Kostyuk. Swiatek came into Paris as one of the favourites to win the Grand Slam.
However, Kostyuk is the only female player in the competition to have not lost a single match on clay this year. Her impeccable record on the surface was extended after she convincingly beat the No. 3 seed 7-5, 6-1. This was a huge disappointment for Swiatek, who had no answers for the Ukrainian’s baseline power. The Polish star’s early exit comes not long after she hit out at the “unsafe” layout of the courts at Roland Garros. Whatever the condition of the courts, Kostyuk was the better player in the French capital.
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She converted six of her nine break point opportunities against the four-time French Open winner. The latter did earn many opportunities of her own, converting three of her nine chances to break Kostyuk’s serve. The Ukrainian was not necessarily efficient against the six-time Grand Slam winner as she made four double faults and hit 27 unforced errors.
Despite these stats not being too easy on the eye, Swiatek’s record was even worse. She struggled with her serve and the constant pressure on her baseline play forced her into making 39 unforced errors. After her huge victory, Kostyuk said: “I’m feeling shocked. To beat such an unbelievable player who has won four times here and I’ve lost four time to her before this and never taken a set of her. I still cannot believe it.”
Tim Henman also criticised Swiatek’s display, particularly in the second set. The former British No. 1 said: “The lack of recognition from Swiatek as to what works and what doesn’t, and what doesn’t work is unforced errors. At every level of this sport, it’s about not making mistakes.
Kostyuk was the superior player against Swiatek (Image: Getty)
“Admittedly, at this level, you have to hit it pretty hard and get a bit closer to the line. But Swiatek made probably 40 unforced errors and only hit around 13 winners, so that’s a huge differential. If you’re giving your opponent a 30-0 headstart in every game, you’re up against it.
“There never was a change of tactics to say ‘I’m going to stay in this rally, I’m going to play with shape, ask my opponent to try and hit winners,’ and once she lost the first set it snowballed so quickly. 7-5, 6-1 is a hugely disappointing result for someone who has had so much success here.”
Swiatek’s loss comes not too long after she blasted the layout of the courts in Paris. Many players have had to pull out of the competition after tripping over obstacles at the back of the courts, including Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey, who fell over a Lacoste advertising board and had to retire from her doubles match with partner Tatjana Maria against Dayana Yastremska and Anhelina Kalinina.
After that incident, Swiatek said: “I didn’t see the incidents, but I heard about them. Obviously if these things happen, there needs to be a reaction, because there are other ways for us to be visible for sure, you know? It’s a shame – I hope they’re going to put them in a different place or just put the advertising in a different way there, because it’s not safe for sure”
