French Open 2024: Jasmine Paolini and Iga Swiatek to clash in women's singles final
The Grand Slam is nearing its conclusion with Iga Swiatek and Yasmine Paolini set to clash for the women's singles title on Saturday, May 8 at the Roland-Garros.
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Swiatek is the defending champion and has lifted the trophy in three of the last four years.
The penultimate day of the 2024 French Open will be headlined by the women’s singles final between Swiatek and Paolini.
World No. 1 Swiatek will bidding to win the French Open title for the fourth time in the last five years.
Paolini, the 12th seed, is appearing in her first Grand Slam final, having beaten unseeded teenager Mirra Andreeva in the semi-finals.
The men’s doubles final, seeing Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic face Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori will also take place on Saturday.
Swiatek vs Paolini Women's final preview
On paper Swiatek looks an overwhelming favourite to win the final.
The world No. 1 has won 20 consecutive matches at the French Open, is on an 18-match winning streak this season, and hasn’t lost to a player ranked outside the top 10 on clay in nearly two years.
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Paolini is playing her first Grand Slam final and hasn’t won more than three games in her previous two meetings against Swiatek.
But Paolini has come a long way since losing to Swiatek 6-3 6-0 the last time they met at the 2022 US Open.
“I don't think there is, you know, a special moment when it changed. I think it was like a process,” she said about her improvement following her semi-final win over Andreeva.
“I started to play better and better, to play better against also top players because before I was, like, 6-1, 6-1 or 6-2, 6-1 and no match, but then I started to be there. I lost all the matches, more or less, against the top players, but I was getting closer and closer, you know. That helped me with the confidence.
“Now with more matches in my pocket I feel more confidence in my game, in myself. So, as I said many times, I step on court believing that I can win those matches, and that's I think the main click that I did then, you know.”
Even if her confidence is sky-high, beating Swiatek in the French Open final looks an enormous challenge for Paolini.
So dominant has Swiatek become at Roland-Garros, where she has a 34-2 record, that she is now being mentioned alongside 14-time winner Rafael Nadal.
"We'll see in 14 years if the journey is similar," said Swiatek about that comparison.
"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."