Iga Swiatek: World No. 1 Iga Swiatek was pushed to the edge but emerged victorious yet again at the Roland Garros. The three-time defending champion defeated Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 6-2, 7-5 to reach the fourth round of the French Open for the seventh straight year, extending her unbeaten streak at the clay-court Grand Slam to 24 matches.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing for Swiatek. After breezing through the first set in 39 minutes without facing a single break point, the Pole found herself in a gritty second-set battle against an inspired Cristian, who recently reached the Rabat final and brought that confidence to Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Swiatek’s nerves were tested as she had to save six break-points in the second set and fought off a determined Cristian who threatened to take the match into a deciding third. With the second set tied at 5-5 and Cristian a point away from forcing a tiebreak, Swiatek dug deep to break serve and seal the win in one hour and 54 minutes.
