French Open 2023: Iga Swiatek drops trophy lid but not losing grip on women's tennis

Iga Swiatek might not have been able to keep the lid of the French Open trophy in her grasp, but another dominant victory at Roland Garros showed the world number one has no intention of loosening her grip of the women's game.

The 22-year-old from Poland won her third title in four years at the clay-court Grand Slam by digging in to win 6-2 5-7 6-4 against Czech opponent Karolina Muchova on Saturday.

Not everything went to plan for Swiatek, who led 6-2 3-0 before Muchova's fightback created tension for the world number one.

Ultimately, she regained composure when it mattered, winning the final three games from a break down in the decider.

Then came another moment of panic in the post-match celebrations.

Seconds after being presented with the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen, which she also lifted in 2020 and 2022, fear spread across Swiatek's face when the lid flew off the trophy when she was shaking it in celebration.

"I honestly felt like I was holding it with my finger, so I guess all the emotions caused that," the four-time major champion said with a smile.

Looking at the trophy in front of her during her news conference, she said: "Sorry. I don't mean to be disrespectful.

"I'm glad the trophy is fine and it won't happen again - probably.

"I just hope I'm going have a chance to hold it again in future years."

After extending her recent dominance on the Paris clay, it looks a strong possibility.

Swiatek has been the dominant player on the WTA Tour over the past 15 months, replacing the retired Ashleigh Barty as the world number one last year and holding the top ranking for 62 consecutive weeks.

This season she has come under pressure from Belarus' Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka - who could have replaced her as number one here - and Kazakhstan's Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina.

Having won the past five majors between them and led the tour this season, the trio have become known as the emerging 'big three' of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA).

"I don't really analyse that," Swiatek, whose ranking will come under pressure again in the grass-court season culminating at Wimbledon, said.

"I know that this is something that kind of you guys created and I understand that fans love that. I'm trying to just be focused on my work.

"I look at my clay-court season and I see at every tournament I really played consistently.

"I reached quarter-finals, semi-finals, finals. I won Stuttgart, I won this tournament. I'm focused on myself and I don't care about the other two players."

Clay is the surface where she particularly excels and Swiatek looked on course for another straightforward victory in her third Roland Garros final.

Leading by a set and a break, Swiatek was heading towards a quick win before 43rd-ranked Muchova fought back to make a contest of what had been a one-sided final.

Showing signs of tension in the deciding set, Swiatek fell a break down at 4-3 and had to show her resolve to come through.

"After so many ups and downs, I kind of stopped thinking about the score," she said.

"I wanted to use my intuition more, because I knew that I can play a little bit better if I'm going to get a little bit more loosened up. It helped, for sure, in the third set."

Swiatek, who turned 22 earlier in the tournament, is the youngest woman to win consecutive Roland Garros titles since Monica Seles in the early 1990s.

Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said she expects Swiatek to win "many more titles" in the future, and did not rule out the Polish player from emulating Rafael Nadal's record of 14 titles.

"I don't know what I'm kind of capable of," said Swiatek, who also won last year's US Open.

"I will work day by day to play the best game possible and to develop as a player.

"I'm not setting any crazy records or goals for myself. I know that keeping it cool is the best way to do it for me. I'm trying more to do that."

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