Iga Swiatek Beats Coco Gauff In French Open Final

Top seed Iga Swiatek underlined why she was the red-hot French Open favourite by beating Coco Gauff in straight sets to win her second Grand Slam title.

Poland’s Swiatek, 21, won 6-1 6-3 against the American teenager to record her 35th straight victory equalling the longest WTA streak this century.

Gauff, 18, was contesting a first major singles final and made a nervy start.

Swiatek, who also won Roland Garros in 2020, took full advantage and went on to win her sixth successive title.

By fighting back from a break down in the second set, Swiatek won the 56th of her past 58 sets.

She also maintained her streak of winning in finals, extending that record to nine in a row.

With clouds darkening and thunder rumbling overhead, Swiatek brought up two championship points and took the first when Gauff hit a forehand long.

After a warm embrace with Gauff, Swiatek dashed off the court to hug her team in the stands and Poland footballer Robert Lewandowski, who came to watch on his day off from Nations League duty.

“Two years ago winning this title was something amazing and never expected,” said Swiatek, who finished her victory speech to send a message of support to Ukraine following the invasion by Russia.

“This time I had worked hard to get here and did everything I could, even though the pressure was tough. The pressure was big but I did it.”

The celebrations were in stark contrast to the sight of Gauff, who was distraught as she sat alone on her chair and broke into tears before putting a towel over her head.

“I’m super proud of myself and feeling a lot of emotions. A mix of happiness and sadness,” Gauff said.

“I’m going to take this experience and hopefully learn from it and get better,” she added

BBC/christopher Ojilere