World No.1 Iga Swiatek marched into the finals of the 2023 French Open aka Roland Garros with a straight-set win over 14th-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia. Swiatek, chasing her third Roland Garros crown, defeated Maia 6-2, 7-6(9-7) to reach another final.
“It’s really amazing. Honestly, it’s tough to play such a long tournament and I’m pretty happy to be able to play consistently and every year have a good result here, and I’m pretty excited for the final, ” said Swiatek after winning the tennis game.
With Swiatek struggling with her service action and uncomfortable trusting her forehand, Haddad Maia’s awesome power of her groundstrokes, particularly on the forehand side, kept her rival unsettled. She went 3-1 up in the second set, and although Swiatek broke back for 3-3, there was little sign of her running away with the contest.
Indeed, it was Haddad Maia who looked the more confident at the start of the tiebreaker, although an early mini-break was snuffed out by an awesome return winner from Swiatek.
Going into the semi-final, the top seed had lost a total of 15 games in the five previous rounds. Swiatek finished with seven more winners to her left-handed rival’s 18. She also had one more unforced error to the latter’s 25.
This is the third time she has made it to the French Open final. It’s also the second consecutive year she’s gone this far in the Major.
With this win, Iga Swiatek will now face Karolina Muchova in the finals of the French Open. Muchova beat Aryna Sabalenka in the first semi-final.
