French Open: Jasmine Paolini says defeat to Iga Swiatek was ‘most challenging match in my entire career’
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ByOli Gent
Published 08/06/2024 at 18:27 GMT
Jasmine Paolini has called her French Open final against Iga Swiatek as "the most challenging match in my entire career". The Italian lost 6-2 6-1 to the Pole in Saturday's final, and was outclassed in one hour and eight minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier in her first ever Grand Slam final. Paolini also said that she wanted "to play Iga one more time" to keep herself at women's tennis' top table.
Highlights: Dominant Swiatek defeats Paolini to win French Open title
Jasmine Paolini has said that her French Open final against Iga Swiatek was “the most challenging match in my entire career”.
The Italian fell 6-2 6-1 to the world No. 1 in Saturday’s final as the Pole clinched her fourth Roland-Garros title in one hour and eight minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Paolini was making her Grand Slam final debut having never been beyond the fourth round of a major tournament, but she was outclassed by Swiatek in a one-sided encounter.
The 12th seed admitted that the match was the most challenging that she had ever faced in her career.
“She's playing unbelievably here,” Paolini said at her post-match press conference.
“She's taking the balls early. She can defend really, really well. On clay, she's unbelievable. Also, on a hard court, come on, she won so many tournaments this year. But I think to play her here is something different.
“She has already won four titles, and she's still 22 years old. These numbers are not normal; they are something unbelievable. Yeah, I think she's an unbelievable player. I think it was the most challenging match I played in my entire career.”
Paolini stunned fourth seed Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals at Roland-Garros, before defeating teenager Mirra Andreeva in the last four to reach the final.
The Italian was asked what was next for her after her first ever Grand Slam final, with Paolini responding that she wanted her get-back at Swiatek.
“I think that my goal right now is to try to keep this level, to play against Iga one more time,” the new world No. 7 said.
“I don't know where. It can be the second round, or it can be the first round. I don't care. I think playing against her can give me something to add things to my game. It's challenging, but at the same time, I can understand more about what I have to improve, and what I have to add to my game.
“I am enjoying the moment. I love to play at this level with those players. I played [Elena] Rybakina, who is world No. 4. I played Iga, who is World No. 1.”
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'She’s unbeatable here' - Wilander, Becker predict more French Open titles for Swiatek
Women's title challengers 'not as obvious' as Federer, Djokovic and Nadal, says Swiatek
In her post-match press conference, French Open champion Swiatek was asked whether she thought there were any players that could contend with her dominance on the WTA Tour.
The Pole insisted that there were three who she'd faced "a lot", but there was no distinct 'Big Three' or 'Big Four' like the top of the men's game had with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray.
"I think we already have some players that I've been facing a lot, like Aryna [Sabalenka], Coco [Gauff], and Elena [Rybakina]," Swiatek said.
"It's not like we don't have that, but for sure, it's not as obvious as Roger, Novak, and Rafa. Sometimes it's the draw. Sometimes it's the fact that one player is going to play well here, one player is going to play well in another place.
"So I can for sure imagine that, but I don't know which of these players that would be or maybe somebody new. We'll see."
You can watch every day of the 2024 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+
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