I had control over the game: Iga Swiatek cruises into French Open third round
Iga Swiatek beat Sara Bejlek 6-2, 6-3 to reach the Roland-Garros third round. The score was tidy, but 38 unforced errors and a shaky serve showed there is still work to do in Paris.
World No. 3 Iga Swiatek continued her march into the third round of Roland-Garros with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Czech qualifier Sara Bejlek on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Wednesday. The four-time champion was not at her clinical best, but had enough quality to control key phases of the match and stay on course for another deep run in Paris.
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Swiatek, who has lost only twice at Roland Garros since 2020, was made to work harder than the scoreline suggests in a match filled with unforced errors and momentum swings.
Speaking after the win, Swiatek admitted the match demanded constant adjustment against a tricky defensive opponent.
“She was pretty good in defence, and I had many opportunities to attack. Sometimes even too many. So when you attack, you're going to make more mistakes, because it's easier to push the ball back than to actually add a lot of energy to it and try to open the court,” she said after the game as quoted by Reuters.
The four-time champion also pointed to the difficulty of handling Bejlek’s style and the court conditions. “The rhythm wasn't quite obvious. But I didn't mind. I wanted to be flexible and adjust and play my game. I had some moments where the mistakes happened, but at the end I feel like I was the one who had control over the game.”
CONTROLLED BUT IMPERFECT PROGRESS
Swiatek finished with 38 unforced errors, including a string of double faults, but still maintained control in the key moments, especially in the opening set where she surged to a 5-1 lead before closing out the match in 94 minutes.
Despite the inconsistencies, the Pole remains firmly in contention as she searches for her first claycourt title since her Roland-Garros triumph two years ago, with signs that she is still fine-tuning her rhythm on serve.
Across her first two matches in Paris, Swiatek has shown both dominance and vulnerability, dropping serve multiple times but compensating with aggressive returning and strong finishes. Of the eight games she has conceded so far, six have come on her own serve, highlighting an area still under refinement.
Her next challenge will be a third-round clash against fellow Pole Magda Linette—a matchup that will test both her consistency and her ability to handle high-risk, high-reward opponents as the tournament intensifies.