Swiatek's struggles make it anybody's game on red clay

The Pole is aiming to become first woman in over a century to win four consecutive French Open titles

- Shahid Judge

MUMBAI: The highlights from Iga Swiatek's last match go by in a blur. Particularly those of the 'breadstick' she was handed in the first set.

In the last few years that the 23-year-old has dominated the women's tour, the 'Swiatek Bakery' has become common parlance in tennis. She has handed out bagels and breadsticks (winning sets 6-0 and 6-1 respectively) almost at will. Consider this: from the start of the 2022 season till a week before last year's French Open, Swiatek had won a set 6-0 or 6-1 in 49 percent of her matches.

But on Court Centrale at Foro Italico in Rome, nearly a fortnight ago, she was beaten 6-1, 7-5 by Danielle Collins in the third round of the Italian Open, where she was the defending champion.

Swiatek has been bagel-ed or breadstick-ed six times this season, four in her last two competitions alone. For a player hoping to become the first woman in over a century to win four consecutive titles at Roland Garros, Swiatek's French Open buildup has not been ideal. "This year I feel like I'm struggling a bit more with my perfectionism," Swiatek had said during the Italian Open. "I want to focus on being disciplined on the court and making right choices, not the choices that sometimes pop out in my head, but being really solid."