Swiatek pulls off stunning comeback

Champion reaches last eight after being a set and a break down against Rybakina

- Tumaini Carayol

After another sad second serve rebounded off the top of the net and floated out on a break point, Iga Swiatek turned to her support team and gestured her rage. She had simply not shown up. As Elena Rybakina bulldozed through the early stages of their highly anticipated fourth-round tussle, Swiatek trailed 6-1, 2-0 and her hopes of victory were fading.

For much of this year, Swiatek has struggled to find her form when forced into difficult positions against her toughest rivals. However, she showed her resilience here with a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 statement win against the 12th seed, to return to the quarterfinals of the French Open.

Five years since her first French Open title, Swiatek's era of dominance at Roland Garros now stands at 25 consecutive victories, the longest winning run here among female players in the 21st century. This win could have a transformative effect on the Pole's confidence as she tries to shake off her difficult run of form and recover self-belief, in her attempt to become the first woman in history to win the French Open singles title four times in a row.