Iga Swiatek keeps her French Open crown shining bright! But from the beginning of the tournament until the championship match, Swiatek faced many difficulties in her quest to defend the title. Now that she has the title back in her possession, she recently talked about how Naomi Osaka almost got her out of the match and thanked the audience for their unrelenting encouragement.

After lifting the title, the world number one stated, “I was almost out of the tournament in the second round. So thank you guys for you know, kind of staying behind my back and cheering for me. I also needed to believe that this one is going to be possible. So, it’s been a really emotional tournament.” 

However, the Pole credited her victory against Naomi Osaka with helping her become used to Roland-Garros. She went on to beat Coco Gauff in the final of the French Open. Apparently, in the competition’s second round, the world number one saved a match point against Osaka and pulled off an incredible comeback to win 7-6 (7-1) 1-6 7-5 on Court Philippe-Chatrier after a fierce battle.

Not only that, even after her semi-finals, she also emphasized the fact that there was a shift in her attitude towards the game, which was bought by Osaka. She added, “Against Naomi, I didn’t have time to get into it. She was intense from the beginning and put pressure on me. I’m happy that I handled it well. The weather changed also; it helped my game and I gained confidence.” 

The 23-year-old tennis star is no stranger to Roland Garros; her outstanding showings here are evocative of Rafael Nadal‘s reign supreme over the Suzanne-Lenglen Cup. Having won the 2020, 2022, and 2023 tournaments, she is the clear favorite to win another one this time around. She had to save a match point against Naomi Osaka in the second round, which put her in danger of losing, so her road to the championship wasn’t without its challenges.

However, there was a time during the tournament when she attracted the French Open crowd, asking for support during the match.

When Iga Swaitek confronted the French Open crowd 

Shortly after winning a fiercely contested match in a three-set thriller and saving a match point against Osaka, the 23-year-old Pole felt obliged to confront the boisterous Roland Garros crowd for interfering with the points.

She stated, “Sometimes under a lot of pressure when you scream something during the rally, it is very distracting and hard to focus. This is serious for us and sometimes it is hard to accept. The stakes are big and we are playing for a lot of money.” 

However, the crowd literally supported her, and she mentioned them in her victory speech, sharing her gratitude for them. Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on the amazing victory speech? Do let us know in the comment section below.