When Iga Swiatek is in her element on clay, it is almost as though she has entered a tennis version of The Matrix.
It seems the Polish champion, who is seeking to join Justine Henin and Helen Wills as the women’s to win four French Open titles in five years in Saturday’s final against Jasmine Paolini, has the ability to slow the ball in mid-air, with the world stopping around her.
It gives the world No.1 time to shape into her forehand and then rip the ball with heavy topspin, to whip her backhand down the line, to bully her rivals from the baseline.
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“I told you so from the start” | 01:22
Coco Gauff is the reigning US Open champion and an athletic star who appeals as the most likely long-term challenger to Swiatek’s reign of dominance.
But at the moment the Pole has won ten of their 11 matches. It is not so much a rivalry as a walloping and the American is amazed by the time the 23-year-old seems to have on the red dirt in Europe.
“I don’t know if it plays much of a role, but she is tougher on clay,” Gauff said after her semifinal loss.
“I think she’s just more comfortable moving and the ball slows down, so she’s able to dictate the point how she wants.”
The French have a phrase for what Swiatek is doing on clay. She “Nadalisers” her rivals.
It takes little tennis knowledge to understand the origin and while Swiatek is right-handed, there are similarities between her and Rafael Nadal in dominance and style and also to the extent she has adopted many of his habits, including the Spaniard’s sprint back to the baseline after the coin toss. Swiatek is flattered by the comparison but not yet ready to accept being the equal of the 14-time champion.
“We’ll see in 14 years if the journey is similar. I mean, that’s obviously really nice for me. I would never expect anybody to compare me to Rafa, because for me he’s above everybody and he’s a total legend,” she said.
“We’ll see in couple of years, but I’m proud of myself that I’m playing consistently here and that I’m mentioned in the same sentence as Rafa. That’s cool.”
The 23-year-old has been tested only once in this edition of Roland Garros and it took four-time champion Naomi Osaka to produce the performance of her life on clay to do so.
But Swiatek dug herself out of a massive hole in the deciding set of a thrilling second round encounter and has not looked back.
In her fourth round match she dropped just ten points when progressing without dropping a game against Anastasia Popapova.
The ruthlessness continued against reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-0 6-2 and she then handled Gauff 6-2 6-4.
Asked what her confidence level was on clay, the double-defending champion declared; “High”.
“With the roof open and the sun shining, the ball bounces a little bit higher. Also, (the air) is a little bit drier, so it goes faster. It just
makes my shots more heavy and that’s it,” she said.
If Swiatek, who also has a US Open to her name, is at home on Court Philippe Chatrier in Paris, her rival in the final Jasmine Paolini is a late-blooming Italian in the form of her life.
Paolini had not progressed beyond the second round in 16 grand slam tournaments until reaching the last 16 at the Australian Open but she will become a top 10 player on Monday as a result of her strong and consistent form this year.
She edged Australian Daria Saville in a tough first round in which both women struggled to hold serve and then survived three set matches against Bianca Andreescu, Elina Avanesyan and Elena Rybakina before dominating teenager Mirra Andreeva in the semi-final.
Midway through the tournament, she bounced through the press room with a massive smile on her face, receiving well wishes from the Italian journalists enduring a busy fortnight given the deeds of Jannik Sinner as well.
Now she will bounce onto Court Philippe Chatrier on Saturday in pursuit of a grand slam title, something the 28-year-old said she had never entertained until recent years.
“When I started to play tennis, I was just enjoying. (it). I was not dreaming too much. I was just enjoying playing tennis,” she said.
“Then I started to train like a professional tennis player (and) I was dreaming to become a professional (but) I never dreamed to be the No. 1, a Grand Slam champion. I never dreamed so big. Never.
“Maybe I dreamed (of being) in the top 10, but … step by step I started to believe, but to dream but for closer things, not too far.
“For me, it’s surprising to see interviews from Nole when he was a kid saying that he wanted to be World No. 1 and Wimbledon. I watch this, and I said, ‘It’s unbelievable that you can dream as a child’. I’m a different kind of person, I think.”
Paolini, who is seeking to become the first Italian since 2015 US Open champion Flavia Panetta to win a grand slam, has taken just six games from Swiatek in two outings, but she is a vastly improved player since their most recent clash in New York two years ago.
But she is aware of the enormity of the task confronting her as she seeks to topple the “Nadaliser” in her Queendom.
“I’m going to say that Iga is an unbelievable player. She is so young, but has so many achievements and Grand Slams,” Paolini said.
“She’s doing well week by week and that’s not easy, so I have huge respect for her, but … my goal is to step on court Saturday and try to enjoy the match and to enjoy that moment and to try to play a good match and to make a good performance on court.”