The rare spectators of the Roland-Garros ladies’ final – “Covid” gauge requires – Saturday, October 10, should get their money’s worth. Because if not many people, at the beginning of the fortnight, would have bet on their combined presence in the final, Iga Swiatek (19 years old, world number 54) and Sofia Kenin (21 years old, world number 6) did not usurp their place. .
The two young women performed high-flying scores on Thursday to reach the semi-finals. The Pole dispatched her meeting against Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska (6-2, 6-1) and will face the American on Saturday, winner of the Czech Petra Kvitova (6-4, 7-5).
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Sofia Kenin wins the showdown against Kvitova
Two Grand Slam tournament winners competing for a place in the final, the poster promised sparks. There were, Thursday, under the overcast sky of Paris. But Sofia Kenin did not give Petra Kvitova time to return to the game when she had the chance. In full confidence, the American dominated the world number 11 (6-4, 7-5) to qualify for her first final in Paris.
At 21, Sofia Kenin is not lacking in confidence. From the outset, she attacked the Czech, distributing the blows, in particular with devastating setbacks. And firmly seizes the reins of the first round.
At 4-1, the number seven seed rebels. Returning from afar to reach the last four, Petra Kvitova does not intend to be defeated without a fight. Supporting her blows, even if it means missing, she returns to the mark, piercing at times the defense of the American. But the latter does not give in and wins the first round.
Striking at the right second, @SofiaKenin #RolandGarros https://t.co/CrpD7pajyH
“She is such a strong player, with an aggressive game. I had to put out a great match ”, breathed Kenin after his victory. The two players delivered a score mixing strokes of genius and great inspirations during the second round. Alternating whipped strokes and cushioned strokes, the winner of the last Australian Open upsets the game plan of the Czech, who won Wimbledon twice.
In difficulty on his second serve balls and caught up with the stress of victory when serving to win the match, Kenin, less royal, lets his opponent hope, foiling on a few balls. But taking over the resounding ones ” Come on “, trademark of her compatriot Danielle Collins, whom she beat in quarterback, the native of Moscow encourages herself and ends the game in 1 h 44 of play.
In a women’s circuit where the hierarchy is as changeable as the weather in Brittany, Sofia Kenin is the sunshine of the year 2020. After her victory at the Australian Open, a title on Saturday would position the young woman to third place in the world. And to see her determination, she will aim higher.
Iga Swiatek throws himself into the final
By dint of chaining the surprises, the surprise, Thursday, October 8, in this part of the female table, was that there were none. The top-ranked player largely dominated the semi-final at Roland Garros, and the Polish Iga Swiatek (pronounced “Shvi-on-tek”), 19, won without firing a shot against the surprising Argentina Nadia Podoroska (6-2, 6-1).
For the Cinderella of the 2020 edition of the Paris tournament, midnight rang at 4:17 p.m. on Thursday. And the native of Rosario, the first player from qualifying to climb into the last four of the Parisian Grand Slam, saw her adventure come to an end. Without ever having been able to respond to his opponent.
Still competing in the doubles tournament (she will play her semi-final on Friday), Iga Swiatek does not seem in the least satisfied. She quickly made Argentina understand that she had not the slightest intention of spending time on the ocher of Philippe-Chatrier.
Flashing the wheels 🏃♀️ @iga_swiatek #RolandGarros https://t.co/GF6J8WLdhq
After breaking Podoroska from the outset, the Polish, world number 54 before the start of the tournament, unfolded her game, which made her one of the most promising young players on the circuit. Her powerful strikes looking for the line, her smack-banging returns and the relentless pace she set got the better of Nadia Podoroska. It was thus necessary to wait seventeen minutes of play for a ” Yes ! “ shrill sort of throat from Argentina. Who clenched his fist, having scored his first game in the semi-finals.
“I didn’t think I would go that far”
Never worried by the few inclinations of rebellion of his opponent, Iga Swiatek pocketed the victory of the first round in barely more than half an hour, while a fine mist humidified the Central. Before unfolding in a second one-way round, concluded in less than half an hour.
“I wanted to approach this match like a first round match, without thinking that it was a semi-final, so as not to be too stressed. I was just aggressive, like in the previous laps ”, exposed the winner after the meeting.
Finalist at Roland-Garros for his second participation, Iga Swiatek has, for the moment, not conceded a single set during this edition. If she manages to repeat this performance on Saturday against the American Sofia Kenin, the second Polish to play a final in Paris (after Jadwiga Jedrzejowska in 1939) would join Justine Hénin (in 2007) among the list of intractable winners.
In view of the level of play displayed by the young woman, a big fan of Rafael Nadal, seeing her lift the trophy would not be surprising. “I’m quite surprised, because I didn’t think I would go that far, ingenuously commented the winner after the meeting. But, at the same time, I knew that if I had to go to the final of a Grand Slam, it would be here at Roland Garros, it’s a dream. “
