Swiatek pulls off epic comeback win over Rybakina, enters last 8

The defending champion, chasing her fifth French Open title, rallied to beat the Kazakh in the fourth round

- Shahid Judge

MUMBAI: In her last press conference a few days ago, Iga Swiatek joked that she does not have a poker face. On Sunday, she proved it.

Calmness, anger, worry, relief, and eventually, joy. She showed it all as she took on world No. 11 and former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the fourth round of the French Open. In an emotional roller coaster that lasted two hours and 30 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier, Swiatek eventually completed a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 win to move into the quarter-final.

As she hit a forehand cross-court winner on match point, Swiatek let out a roar, pumped her fists and thumped her chest. This was a rare celebration for the defending champion chasing her fifth title so early in the tournament. But it was indicative of how deep she had to dig to get the win.

"She really pushed me and I needed to do something to get back in the game," Swiatek told former world No. 1 Mats Wilander in the courtside interview. "With (Rybakina) playing like that, I didn't have a lot of hope but I just kept fighting and I'm happy I did that. After every game, I felt I could loosen up more and at the end I was able to play my game."