From Rafa to Iga: as one owner of Roland Garros departs, a new one has moved in

We know Iga Swiatek is the Queen of Clay.

We know, now that she has four titles and a 35-2 record on the terre battue at age 23, that she might even be the Next Rafa at Roland Garros. That’s not something I ever expected to say, about anyone, until this very moment.

But after her 68-minute, 6-2, 6-1 demolition of Jasmine Paolini in the final on Saturday, I’ll propose another title for Swiatek: She’s the Best Player Ever at Methodically Turning a Competitive Match into a Rout.

Nadal and Serena Williams also specialized in this, of course. But Serena tended to wait a little longer to turn on the jets—she was the queen of the “you’re dismissed” third-set bagel. As for Rafa, he tended to let the opening set stay close, before grinding his opponent into the dust—he was the master of the 7-6, 6-1 scoreline.

With Swiatek, everything happens more quickly. Her opponent can come out of the gates hot, and match her stroke-for-stroke for three or four games. But one mistake at the wrong time, one careless error or over-ambitious forehand at deuce, even early in the first set, can spell doom. Knowing that must really weigh on the mind of anyone she faces.

Saturday’s final was a perfect case in point. The 5'4" Paolini made a bold and seemingly nerveless start. She saved a break point in the second game, and then broke at 1-1. She was holding her own in the power department, and wasn’t missing from the baseline. She had the crowd, which was just hoping to see a decent match, urging her on.

Then, with Paolini serving at 1-2, Swiatek started by hitting a forehand winner. She followed with another forehand that forced an error, and let out her first “Come on!” of the day. She broke with a backhand return winner.

While it may have seemed like Paolini was still in the match, veteran Iga watchers may have had an inkling that it was all but over. They were right. Swiatek held for 3-2 with two backhand winners, broke for 4-2 when Paolini double faulted, and held for 5-2 with a confident forehand volley. She closed out the first set with a deep return and a love break. It was more of the same in the second set, as the crowd slowly abandoned its hopes for a competitive contest, and just started rooting for Paolini not to get bageled. The fact that she was only bread-sticked felt like a minor victory.

“I think, looking at the whole situation and the fact that during the finals there is sometimes a lot of pressure, I think it was a really good match,” Swiatek said. “Obviously, I mean, I got broken at the beginning, so it wasn’t maybe perfect, but I think the level was pretty high.”

If there’s a statistic from this match that stands out, it’s Swiatek’s ability to neutralize, or even take advantage of, Paolini’s first serve. Paolini won just 39 percent of her first-serve points, almost exactly the number she won on her second delivery. Earlier in the clay season, I talked about how Iga was turning her backhand return into the most devastating weapon in women’s tennis, and it was true again on Saturday. What can an opponent do when she can’t even rely on her first serve to win her more points than her second serve?

“She’s playing unbelievable here,” Paolini said of Swiatek. “She’s taking the balls early, taking time [from] you, but also using rotation. She can defend really, really well. On clay, she’s unbelievable.”

“I never played a player that has this intensity before in my life,” she added. “I think I played, like, four games at that intensity. Then [it] was tough. But I was trying to hit as hard as I could.”

Intensity, consistency, heavy shotmaking from both sides, on every ball she touches: It’s the relentlessness of her attack that allows Swiatek to turn competitive matches into blowouts so reliably. She hit virtually every ball in this match with purpose and aggression, but made just 13 errors. As Paolini says, it’s not just Swiatek’s pace and spin that pressures you, it’s how she takes it off the bounce and takes your time away. Swiatek is the Queen of Clay, but she’s more offensive-minded than a traditional dirt-baller.

You’ve heard of Total Football. When I watch Swiatek on clay, the phrase Total Tennis comes to mind. It’s comprehensive.

“Obviously I’m a perfectionist, so there is always pressure, like, behind me,” Swiatek said. “Obviously, I got broken at the beginning, so it wasn’t maybe perfect, but I think I played pretty well considering all these facts and the pressure.”

“Pretty well considering,” indeed. As the last owner of Chatrier—Swiatek’s idol, Nadal—departs, a new one has moved right in.