The women’s singles championship match will be played on Saturday afternoon in Paris.
Iga Swiatek is playing for her fourth Major title, and her third French Open out of the last four. She would become the first woman to win three RG titles in such a short span since Justine Henin, as well as the first woman to defend this title since Henin did in 2007. And a fourth Slam title would tie Iga with Naomi Osaka as the second-most among non-retired female players, trailing only Venus Williams. In short, a victory on Saturday would put Swiatek in elite company, especially on clay.
A year ago, Karolina Muchova left this tournament in a wheelchair, after turning her ankle in a third round encounter with Amanda Anisimova. Multiple injuries across the last few years almost forced her into retirement, as doctors suggested she leave the sport. But she pulled off an amazing comeback on Thursday against Aryna Sabalenka, where Karolina was down 2-5, 0-30 in the third, yet she won 20 of the last 24 points and saved a match point to achieve her first Major final.
Also on Saturday, the men’s doubles championship match features Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek (4) vs. Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen. Dodid and Krajicek lost last year’s final in three sets, though Ivan is a two-time Major champ in men’s doubles, including here with Marcelo Melo back in 2015. This is a first Slam final in men’s doubles for Gille and Vliegen, but Joran was a runner-up here in mixed doubles a year ago.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Karolina Muchova – Not Before 3:00pm on Court Philippe-Chatrier
Swiatek is 34-6 on the year overall, and 18-2 on clay. She’s only lost two of her 29 career matches at Roland Garros, and only six of 58 completed sets. Iga hasn’t lost a set in Paris since the fourth round a year ago, to Qinwen Zheng. She is 3-0 in Major finals, having never lost a set, and 13-4 in finals overall, though she has lost two of her last three.
Muchova is 23-7 this season, after going only 9-9 at tour level a year ago due to aforementioned injuries. She’s the only player to defeat Aryna Sabalenka at a Slam this year, and is now 5-0 lifetime against top three opposition, with four of those upsets taking place at Majors. Karolina dropped two sets to this stage, and this is only her third-ever WTA-level final, and her first in nearly four years.
Both players should be keen to win the first set on Saturday. As Simon Cambers highlighted on Twitter, the winner of the first set has won the women’s final at Roland Garros in 19 of the last 21 years. And Swiatek has only lost four times at Majors after taking the first set.
Muchova claimed their only previous meeting, which was a three-setter four years ago on clay in Prague, the biggest event in Karolina’s home country of the Czech Republic. But four years later, Swiatek must be considered the favorite. She has separated herself from all her competition on this surface.
But I do expect Muchova to challenge Swiatek on Saturday. She has a well-rounded game with many offensive weapons, and will be feeling uber-confident after what she accomplished in the semifinals. Plus, Karolina knows she is a considerable underdog, just as Iga knows she is a significant favorite, so the pressure will land decisively on the World No.1’s side of the net. It should be a great final.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.
