French Open winner: #1 Iga Świątek wins over Karolina Muchová in women’s singles final

Iga Świątek has won the 2023 women’s French Open final over Karolina Muchová. This marks her second consecutive French Open championship and the third overall of her career. We often call Rafael Nadal the “king of clay,” and it seems Świątek may already be carving out “the queen of clay” moniker for herself. This is the fourth career major win for the world’s #1 women’s tennis player.

Świątek was the favorite heading into the tournament with -125 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook. Her odds only increased as she made her way through the tournament field. She went into the finals as the -900 moneyline favorite over Muchová.

1st set recap

Świątek started off serving, won her first game, and then broke Muchová for an early 2-0 set lead. She held strong her second service, but Muchová picked up her first game win, serving for the second time to move it to 3-1. Game 5 saw four deuces played, but Świątek picked up the eventual win to move it to 4-1. Muchová responded with a win of her own that saw two deuce frames, already calling into question the endurance of the two competitors after a long tournament. Świątek held her serve and then broke Muchová to win the first set.

Final: Swiatek 6-2

2nd set recap

Świątek started the second set, maintaining the momentum she gained from the first. She held her serve and then broke Muchová to repeat the start of the first set with a 2-0 lead. She picked up the Game 3 win by holding serve, but Muchová finally got on the board by holding her own serve in Game 4 to make it 3-1. Muchová then broke Świątek for the first time in the match to push the score to 3-2. Things got all tied up as she continued this momentum to hold serve. Świątek picked up a Game 6 win with her serve, but Muchová held strong for hers pushing the set to a 4-4 tie. A costly double fault saw Muchová break Świątek for the second time this set, and she had her first game lead of the match. Świątek responded with a break of her own to even the set back at five games apiece. Muchová broke Świątek for the third time this set and took the 6-5 lead with a chance to win the set if she could hold serve. It took the game going to deuce, but Muchová came back and solidified the st victory to force a third set.

Final: Muchová 7-5

3rd set recap

Muchová broke Świątek to begin the third set and get out to her best set start of the match. She then benefitted from two aces in a quick second game where she held serve. Świątek picked up a surprisingly much-needed game win in Game 3 by holding her serve. She continued this momentum by breaking Muchová and tieing the third set up at two games apiece. Świątek held serve, but so did Muchová, so the set is tied 3-3 through six games. Muchová then broke Świątek in Game 7, with Świątek returning the favor in Game 8. She then held her set to move it to 5-4 with a chance to win if she could break Muchová one more time. Świątek pulled it off and picked up the third set win on a double fault.

Final: Świątek 6-4

Iga Świątek’s Path to Championship

1st: Cristina Bucsa 6-4, 6-0
2nd: Claire Liu 6-4, 6-0
3rd: Xinyu Wang 6-4, 6-0
4th: Lesia Tsurenko 5-1, Retired
QF: #6 Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2
SF: #14 Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 7-6 (9-7)
F: Karolina Muchová 6-2, 5-7, 6-4