Iga Swiatek's 2023 Roland Garros campaign finished on a great note as she won the event but it was a tricky one.
Swiatek played a really good match against an inspired Karolina Muchova but still found herself in a lot of trouble. She was down a break twice in the final set but rallied to win the match in the end. It was a great conclusion for a complicated Roland Garros that started well.
The preparation for the event wasn't great for the Pole. A loss in Madrid to Aryna Sabalenka and then retirement in Rome against Elena Rybakina. The retirement itself was something that was more troublesome than it was initially reported. Her coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, spoke about it to Eurosport admitting that it almost kept her away from playing in Paris.
She has passed through all the tough moments this year. She was injured badly in Indian Wells and then skipped Miami. Then after Rome, we were unsure if she would be able to play at the French Open until the very last moment.
The final and semifinal showed the Polish player under quite a bit of stress. She was more nervous than usual, certainly more than last year which Wiktorowski confirmed came from an added pressure that she felt this year.
Iga felt more pressure than last year. It was a huge match, the final of a Grand Slam. Being here back-to-back means something, but also, you demand more from yourself. This is why this was the most difficult match for me since I became her coach.
Despite the match being tense, the post-match atmosphere was very light-hearted and Swiatek had something to do with that. The Polish player dropped part of the trophy which was a very funny moment during the trophy ceremony.
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