Sofia Kenin entered 2020 finals with an 11-11 record in Grand Slam action. Iga Swiatek, 19, ranked 54th is her opponent at the finals. Sofia has never entered the quarter-finals at any clay-court tournamnent and iga has never been past the fourth round at a major tournament. .
Swiatek is chasing a unique two-fer in Paris: she is in the doubles semi-finals with American Nicole Melichar, too, giving her a chance to become the first player since Mary Pierce in 2000 to win the women's singles and doubles trophies in Paris. "I feel like I should be getting deep in a tournament, but try not to put pressure on myself”, kenin said. "I'm going to be, like, an 'underdog'," Swiatek said, using her fingers to make air quotes. On contrary, her dominance she has been seen along the way to becoming the lowest-ranked women's finalist at Roland Garrons. "It seems unreal," Swiatek said. "On one hand, I know that I can play great tennis. On the other hand, it's kind of surprising for me." She has won all 12 sets she's played in the tournament, dropping merely 23 games. Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, came in having won every set, too. But as Kenin put it: "I mean, that obviously doesn't mean anything if I'm playing well”. "I mean, obviously I felt like I could not overpower her. I knew I just needed to adjust my game," Kenin said over yesterdays watch victory. "I had to control the points, move her, dictate, try not to give her short balls, and try to have a good serve." Swiatek (pronounced shvee-ON'-tek) has been on the rise, and the tennis world's radar, for a couple of years now, she has won the Wimbledon junior singles title in 2018 and the French Open junior doubles title (with Coco Gauff's current partner, Caty McNally) in the same year.
One more key to success for Swiatek is her father was an Olympic rower, is her returning ability. She entered this contest averaging 5.4 breaks per match and added five more to the total and the less-measurable factor: Swiatek's competitiveness. "I'm staying super focused. I'm, like, not letting my opponents play their best tennis. So I hope I'm going to do that on Saturday”, said swaitek.
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