PARIS– PARIS (AP) — Iga Swiatek began her quest for a third consecutive French Open title with a straightforward 6-1, 6-2 victory over Leolia Jeanjean on Monday, extending her winning streak to 13 matches.
Swiatek, who has placed first in almost every week since April 2022, took an overwhelming 26-2 lead in the winners and had only a brief spell on Court Philippe Chatrier in the 1 hour and 1 minute match: She was broken and lost 1-0 in the second set.
But after nine unforced errors in the first two games of that set, Swiatek made just two the rest of the way to his 15th consecutive victory at Roland Garros. Three of her four Grand Slam trophies have come in Paris – in 2020, 2022 and 2023. The last woman to win the championship on clay three times in a row was Justine Henin in 2005-07.
“It feels like we’re at home here,” said Swiatek, who will face four-time major champion and former No. 1 Naomi Osaka. “I’m very happy to be back. I feel like I can play really good tennis, so I hope to stay here as long as possible.”
His match would be followed by another involving someone even more comfortable on red clay: Rafael Nadal, 14-time Roland Garros champion. He was scheduled to face No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev in the first round – in what could end up being Nadal’s final French Open match.
“I will definitely be watching Rafa’s match,” said Swiatek. “Comparing myself to him? I don’t think I’m at that level yet. He is a great person and a great athlete… I will try to learn lessons from him.”
In other early action on Monday, defending Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner improved to 8-0 at the Grand Slam in 2024 by defeating Chris Eubanks 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, the defending champion of Wimbledon Marketa Vondrousova eliminated Rebeka Masarova 6-1, two-time major finalist Ons Jabeur beat USA’s Sachia Vickery 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.
Sinner, who missed the Italian Open this month with a hip injury, moved well and her shots looked good. He limited Eubanks’ big serve to four aces, converted 5 of 10 break points and was broken just once.
Not surprisingly, forward Sinner had 10 of the 14 points that took nine shots or more.
“The hips are good. I am really happy. I’m happy that my team and I worked hard to get back on the court as quickly as possible,” said Sinner. “For sure, (my) overall shape is still not 100%, so we try to build every day.”
The meeting lasted just over two hours and, truth be told, Sinner wasn’t tested much.
“I’m obviously happy with what I’ve achieved in the last few months. But our goal is to improve every day. That for me is more important. I know I have to improve some things,” said Sinner, who now faces French veteran Richard Gasquet. “Let’s see what I can achieve in the future.”
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Howard Fendrich has been an AP tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich
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