French Open Women's Final- Kenin vs Swiatek
Finals weekend at Rolland Garros begins with the women’s final on the final Saturday of the French Open. Teenage sensation Iga Swiatek faces off against Sofia Kenin, a final which will see a new French Open champion crowned.
Kenin, who is the fourth seed in the tournament, will aim to claim her second Grand Slam of the season after she won her maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Despite having already won a Grand Slam title and being the favourite in the final, Kenin wants to take the next step in her career. "I want to make the next step. I would love to take the title".
The pair have faced each other once before in the junior tournament at Rolland Garros in 2016 in which Kenin came out on the losing side. She insists that their previous meeting will have no bearing on the final.
"I remember I lost. I don't remember how I played.
"Of course, we're both different players now. I have to figure out what she does. She's had a great two weeks here. She's had some great results, playing some really good tennis." The 21-year-old American said.
Kenin’s impressive run to the final has saw her beat Petra Kvitova in her semi-final. But this run is somewhat of a surprise as she lost her only warmup match to Victoria Azarenka.
The 21-year-old American is much more comfortable on the clay court and seems to have recaptured the form that saw her beat Garbine Murguruza in the Australian Open final.
I did not have the best result and I could feel clay was not there for me.
"But I knew that it just takes a few matches to get a nice groove in. I know how to adjust to the surface. So I'm loving the clay."
This will be a difficult task for Kenin as her opponent Swiatek has yet to drop a set in the tournament, who was incredibly impressive in her semi-final as she beat Nadia Podoroska 6-2 6-1 in 70 minutes.
Swiatek is ranked 54th in the world which makes her the lowest ranked finalist in 43 years. She did not believe that a final appearance was on the cards especially due to the form that she entered the tournament in, "I never would've thought I'm going to be in the final. It's crazy."
The 19-year-old has said her surprising run to the final was partially down to her sport psychologist Daria Abramowicz, who has helped calm her nerves. "I'm dealing with my nerves pretty good. I feel like I've been so efficient and so focused for whole matches that I put a lot of pressure on my opponents.
"I'm not even nervous in second sets because I know it's going to probably go my way.” Said Swiatek.
"On one hand I know that I can play great tennis. On the other hand, it's kind of surprising for me. I just kept believing in myself. It's like a dream come true." She added.
The belief in her talent and ability was not lacking from her coach, he believed that she had the ability to become a Grand Slam Champion. "It's not like she got to where she is by chance.
"She may be 19, but she has been working on this for a very long time quite rigorously and she been making stable progress for many years." Said her coach Piotr Sierzputowski.
The women’s final will not only provide a maiden Rolland Garros title for one of them but it will also highlight the next generation of women’s tennis.
