After the disappointing round of 16 at the Australian Open against the later finalist Elena Rybakina (KAZ), Swiatek has the chance to win the third Grand Slam within a year after Paris and the US Open 2022. However, she is ahead of Muchova , which will improve from 43rd place to at least 16th place (tenth place for the title). Swiatek lost the only duel against Muchova, who was born in Olomouc, in Prague 2019 6: 4 1: 6 4: 6, but the Pole was only 18 years old at the time. In addition, Muchova has never lost to a player in the top three in the world.
“I still know Karolina’s game quite well because I’ve trained a lot with her since then and coincidentally I’ve seen more of her matches than most of the others,” said Swiatek before the final. She likes the game of the Czech, who acts with a lot of wit. “She’s a player who can do everything, she has a great touch and she moves very freely in a way.”
Muchova plagued by injuries
Muchova is by no means a blank slate either: after all, the 26-year-old Czech has a semi-final at the Australian Open (2021) and two quarter-finals in Wimbledon (2019, 2021). In between, she had to deal with a whole series of injuries, which caused her to slip down to 235th place at the end of August 2022. Last year at the French Open, the Czech left the field with tears in her eyes. After a good start to the tournament, she twisted her ankle in the third round and had to give up. Just one year later, the 26-year-old surprisingly faces her biggest game in the same place.
“Life goes up and down all the time. Now I’m enjoying being back on top,” said Muchova, adding: “There were many moments, many low points, from one injury to the next.” Now the 26-year-old will see her best ranking so far from May 2021 (19th). definitely top. The run to the final came unexpectedly, even though Muchova made it through to two quarterfinals at the 1000 tournaments in Dubai and Indian Wells this year.
Swiatek remains number one
Muchova had no doubts about being the favorite, even after her fifth win in five matches against a top three player: “I don’t think I’m the favourite. This statistic only shows that I can keep up against her.” The opponent also played along in the victory over world number two Sabalenka on Thursday. Because at 5: 2 in the third set, the Belarusian missed a match point and then completely lost the thread.
In any case, since 1984 there have only been two players who made it to the final in Paris with a worse world ranking position than number 43 – including Swiatek on her first triumph in 2020. The Pole, on the other hand, already had a 2.3 before the fight for the winner’s check Million euros secured their position as number one. If she wins her fourth Major title, she will draw level with the likes of Kim Clijsters (BEL), Naomi Osaka (JPN) and Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario (ESP).
