History Made by Both Champions
Iga Swiatek won her 5th major title, capped off a great clay court season*, demonstrated why she is ranked #1, and won her 4th French Open title in 5 years by claiming the title in pretty routine fashion during the final 5 rounds of the tournament. Her 2nd round win over Naomi Osaka was an instant classic in which Swiatek had to save match points while turning back the former world #1 and 4-time major champion. Swiatek is also entering her 107th week as the #1 ranked player in the world. With the WTA and ATP putting out weekly rankings, being ranked #1 for over two years is no small accomplishment. Swiatek is the first really accomplished #1 whose career has had little to no overlap with Serena Williams (they never played a match). I am not super interested in all-time lists, but Swiatek has a chance to move past quite a few well-known champions on those lists in the years to come. This is so because more importantly she can win a lot of trophies between now and whenever she retires from tennis. **
Carlos Alcaraz won his third career major in less than 3 years by spreading his major titles between events and surfaces. Alcaraz added the 2024 French Open on clay to his 2023 triumph at Wimbledon on grass, and 2022 US Open title on hard courts. Alcaraz’s main contemporary on tour won the 2024 Australian Open and grabbed the #1 ranking in Paris when defending champion Novak Djokovic suffered a knee injury and pulled out of the event. (A future column will explore Nole spending over 8 years ranked #1.)
Still, Jannick Sinner lost a bit of the spotlight despite grabbing the top ranking and perhaps entering Wimbledon as a co-favorite with Alcaraz (assuming Novak Djokovic does not play Wimbledon 2024). The young Spaniard took the title by making a pair of two sets-to-one-down comeback wins over Sinner in the semifinal round and Alexander Zverev in the championship match. Zverev won Masters Rome and beat Rafael Nadal in a luck-of-the-draw first-round showdown.
Technical Thoughts
Swiatek’s forehand and the way she constructs points around it are a problem for the rest of the WTA to solve. This is particularly true on clay where options for robbing her of time are limited. Her 21-1 record on clay in 2024 speaks for itself.
Andy Roddick’s take on the men’s final and how each player adjusted to the wind depending upon the side of the court he was playing on, how much of a premium being able to defend as well as attack is for winning majors in today’s game, and how Alcaraz and Zverev adjusted to what the other was trying to take away from their options is all worth absorbing. In a recent column, I have a link to Roddick’s analysis.
*Olympic tennis will lead to a return to clay and Stade Roland Garros for many players on both tours.
** Who won a tournament or set of tournaments is something I care about more than GOAT debates because who won tells us something tangible. _________ (This player) won ________ (event). GOAT lists are what people think of this player vs. a set of other players. What people like me think is nice as far as it goes.
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 