The last women’s Grand Slam champion will be crowned on Saturday afternoon when the final of the French Open is played out on the Philippe Chatrier Court at Roland Garros in Paris when Iga Swiatek meets Sofia Kenin for the clay court title.
Both women have played some good tennis to make it to this stage, one which will be the biggest that Swiatek has played on with this being her maiden Grand Slam final, while Kenin will be going for her second major title of the year.
Iga Swiatek
Sometimes when a player outside the top 50 in the world goes deep in a big tournament you can look at their draw and realise that it has opened up and there has been an element of fortune about it. That isn’t the case with Swiatek who dealt with the biggest danger of the lot earlier in the competition when she didn’t just beat Simona Halep but took her to the cleaners. She became the favourite to win the event at that point and nothing has changed since.
The teenager makes it through to this final having not dropped a set in the tournament. Not only has she not dropped a set but she has only lost 20 games in her six matches – an average of less than two games per set which is pretty incredible. That highlights how well she has been playing but it does throw up the concern of what she will find should she be put in a contest here, which you’ve got to think there is a good chance she will be.
Sofia Kenin
It has been harder work for Sofia Kenin to make it through to this final and that can often be a negative but at least she has the knowledge that she is battle-hardened and can deliver her best tennis in tight moments. The other thing she has going for her is that she has been there and done it on this level having picked up the Australian Open earlier in the year. She has also beaten Serena Williams on this court so while the American is the underdog she does have positive experiences to draw upon.
Kenin has come through a number of deciding set matches but she rose her game to see off Petra Kvitova in the semi-final and there is a sense that she is coming to the boil nicely. Traditionally Americans are pigeonholed as poor players on clay but that isn’t the case with Kenin, although you wouldn’t have thought it when she was surprisingly double-bagelled in Rome in the lead up to this competition. Her rise since then is to her credit of overcoming adversity.
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Head to head
These two women meet for the first time in the senior ranks but they did meet here in the juniors four years ago when Swiatek won in two very competitive sets. Since then Kenin has gone on to become a leading player in the sport while Swiatek has been talked up of someone who is expected to breakthrough, which she has done this week. Given their inexperience of facing each other the early stages of this match could be quite interesting.
Betting
The odds on Iga Swiatek have been shortening ever since she beat Simona Halep in this tournament and when you consider she has only dropped seven games in her last two matches it isn’t hard to see why that is the case but I can’t help but wonder what response she will have should she be part of an even contest, or one which goes deep in sets, a place she hasn’t been in at any stage in this tournament having only dropped more than three games in one of the 12 sets she has played.
The general feeling is that Swiatek will overpower Sofia Kenin and it might be that she does but Kenin has beaten Serena Williams on this court in the past so I can’t see just brute power doing for the American here, plus it isn’t as though Kenin doesn’t pack a punch despite her diminutive frame. I’m of the opinion that there is something to take from being battle-hardened and having big match experience. If this is a tight match we know Kenin can play her best in those moments while we are guessing with Swiatek. The Polish youngster has had a brilliant tournament but the value lies in her opponent here.
Tips
Back S.Kenin to beat I.Swiatek for a 3/10 stake at 2.60 with BetVictor
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