After her stunning semifinal loss to Zheng Qinwen, Iga Swiatek found herself in an alternative universe -- on the wrong side of a match score at Roland Garros.
Jaw set, eyes and face red, she conceded later it was not her best effort.
“It’s the result of the match. So I just messed up,” Swiatek told Eurosport Poland afterward. “I just had a hole in my backhand. It happens rarely because it is usually my most solid strike.
“I was not technically well-positioned because of the stress and the fact that I played my games day by day. We didn’t have time to adjust that and work on that. I know that’s not the justification, but I tried to correct that during the match. Today it didn’t work at all.”
But Swiatek can make up for some of that disappointment Friday.
Despite perceptions to the contrary, Swiatek’s Olympic dreams did not die with that loss to Zheng. The 23-year-old from Poland still has a chance to win a medal in Paris -- it’s just a different color than the one she imagined.
On Friday the World No.1 takes on the winner of Thursday’s late semifinal match between Donna Vekic and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova. To the victor goes the bronze medal, a coveted piece of hardware sure to be cherished forever.
For context, here are the past three bronze medalists in women’s singles: Victoria Azarenka (2012), Petra Kvitova (2016), Elina Svitolina (2020). Formidable players (as well as mothers) across the board.
Before the tournament began at Roland Garros, Swiatek was asked what it would mean to win a medal.
“It would mean, obviously, a lot,” she answered. “I’ll really work hard to achieve that.”
It’s still within her grasp. Swiatek is particularly motivated to do something that eluded her father Tomasz, who rowed in the 1988 Olympics for Poland. His boat in the men’s quadruple sculls event failed to make the final but won the “B” final for seventh place.
Swiatek, who saw several streaks ended in the 6-2, 7-5 loss to Zheng, is essentially playing a home game in Paris. She’s 39-3 at the Paris venue and has won 25 of her past 26 matches. She also won 23 of her past 24 matches on clay this year.
The head-to-head with Vekic is 4-0, Swiatek. The most recent match -- and the only one on clay -- came last year in Rome, with Swiatek winning 6-3, 6-4. Swiatek and Schmiedlova have never played.
