French Open: When Iga Swiatek is on a roll, it's tough to break in, says runners-up Karolina Muchova

Karolina Muchova was left with a “bitter” feeling after she lost to Iga Swiatek in a closely-fought French Open women’s singles final on Saturday, June 11 at Court Philippe Chatrier. The star from the Czech Republic lost the match 2-6, 7-5, 4-6.

It also happened to be the first time that Muchova played in the final of a Grand Slam. She also lost her first match against a top 3 opponent after winning five matches in a row. However, she sounded proud after finishing as the runners-up.

“Now, the feeling is a little bitter because I felt it was a very close match. But overall, to call myself a Grand Slam finalist is an amazing achievement and a big motivation for me to work in the future, and then to get a chance again to play these big titles,” Muchova was quoted as saying to the reporters.

 

After winning the second set, Muchova earned an early break of serve to push Swiatek on the backfoot. But the latter made a stupendous comeback to close out the match in two hours and 46 minutes. Muchova admitted that she was a tad slow with her movements and found it tough to stop her opponents.

“The difference... Well you could see the difference in the first set and a half, I think I felt I was a little slow, I would say, and Iga (Swiatek) obviously usually has these great starts to the matches, I would say. And when she’s on a roll, it’s tough to break in,” he added.

Earlier, Muchova beat World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final and impressed one and all. She also became the only player to take a set off Swiatek in the French Open 2023.