French Open 2024: Iga Swiatek handles ‘huge baggage’ on way to three-peat title
- ‘I’m a perfectionist, so there’s always pressure on me,’ she says. ‘When outside pressure hits me, it is a little bit worse’
Iga Swiatek described her French Open triumph as an emotional win and said she was proud to have handled the pressure of being the favourite to win a third consecutive title on the Parisian clay.
World No 1 Swiatek steamrollered Italian surprise finalist Jasmine Paolini in straight sets on Saturday, winning 6-2, 6-1 to claim her fifth grand slam title, and fourth at Roland Garros, but said that being a perfectionist meant there had been an added challenge.
“I’m a perfectionist, so there’s always pressure on me. I’m fine handling my own pressure. When outside pressure hits me, it is a little bit worse. But I managed it really well at this tournament,” Swiatek said.
“It was an emotional win because I felt a lot of stress ... And I knew if I’m going to just focus on tennis, I can kind of fight through it, and at the end it all went how I wanted. So I just felt really proud of myself.”
Dubbed the queen of clay by fans and pundits for her dominance on the surface, Swiatek dropped one set throughout the tournament, in a second-round epic with Naomi Osaka where she had to save a match point.
