PARIS (AP) — Iga Swiatek is always quite good against Emma Raducanu. Always quite good at the French Open, too, of course.
So it made sense that the latest matchup between these two Grand Slam champions, which came in the second round at Court Philippe-Chatrier on Wednesday, would end up with Swiatek on the right side of a 6-1, 6-2 result.
“I felt good on court, so I could do whatever I planned to, whatever I wanted to,” said Swiatek, who improved to 5-0 against Raducanu and ran her winning streak in the clay-court Grand Slam tournament to 23 matches.
“This place inspires me,” Swiatek said, “and makes me work harder.”
Truth be told, she was not made to work all that hard during this encounter, which lasted only 1 hour, 19 minutes in what Swiatek described as “tricky” wind.
The 23-year-old from Poland was in fine form against 2021 U.S. Open champion Raducanu, putting together a whopping 32-8 edge in winners and saving all four break points she faced while taking all eight of her service games.
But it’s been a bit of a rough stretch for Swiatek by her lofty standards. She hasn’t been as far as a final at any tournament since winning the championship at last year’s French Open.
That title was her fourth in Paris and third in a row. Swiatek is aiming to become the only woman with four consecutive trophies at the French Open in the Open era, which began in 1968. Monica Seles and Justine Henin both also won three straight.
ALCARAZ SINGS
After winning his second-round match, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz finally got to do something he always wanted: sing to the fans at Roland-Garros.
Alcaraz had beaten Fabian Marozsan of Hungary 6-1, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, and just completed a brief interview with Mats Wilander on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
So the fans thought that was it, but Alcaraz was not done.
“One thing, one thing. I always wanted to do that. I hope everyone follow me,” the 22-year-old Spaniard said.
Then, leaning into the microphone, he sang the familiar-sounding refrain often belted out by crowds at Roland-Garros.
Perhaps fittingly, it is to the tune of a Spanish paso doble. It goes ” Po-po-po-po-po-po po-lolo ” — as the French write it — and is always followed by a pause and then an “Olé.”
A smiling Alcaraz let the crowd do the “Olé” part, then slapped hands with Wilander before they walked off the clay court to loud applause.
