The step up proved too big as Gauff lost to Swiatek for the third time in three encounters. She had not dropped a set in the previous rounds of the tournament, but she also had not faced a player ranked in the top 30. Gauff, in her first Grand Slam singles final at age 18, sat in her chair courtside with tears streaming down her face after the defeat. “Strategy-wise, I mean, going in, honestly it was tough to come up with something with someone who hasn’t lost in a while,” Gauff said. Her winning streak is the longest on the WTA Tour in more than 20 years, equaling Venus Williams’s 35-match streak in 2000. This time, I felt like I really did the work.” “With that awareness, I was even more happy and even more proud of myself, because in 2020 I just felt that I’m lucky, you know. “How every puzzle has to come together and basically every aspect of the game has to work,” she said, the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen shimmering by her side. This time, victory was no surprise, but she understood on a more granular level what the task required. “I think in 2020, the main thing that I felt was confusion, because I have never really believed 100 percent that I can actually win a Grand Slam,” Swiatek said. She took command of the final from the start to win her 35th straight match and sixth straight tournament. But red clay remains her favorite playground, as it does for her role model Rafael Nadal, who will take aim at his 14th French Open title on Sunday.īut Saturday belonged to Swiatek and her own heavy-topspin forehand. Swiatek has been an irresistible force on every surface for the last four months, racking up lopsided victories with her cap pulled low and her intensity cranked up high. She even beat the rain, closing out the victory with thunder rumbling in the final game over the main Philippe Chatrier Court with its open roof.
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