AP photo by Christophe Ena / Iga Swiatek kisses her trophy after beating Sofia Kenin to win the French Open on Saturday.PARIS - Minutes after suddenly becoming a Grand Slam tennis champion at only age 19 and just No. 54 in the WTA rankings, Iga Swiatek held a microphone during the French Open trophy ceremony and was hesitant for pretty much the only time over the past two weeks.
"First of all, I'm not very good at speeches," she began, haltingly, "so, sorry, because I won my last tournament like two years ago, and I really don't know who to thank."
When Swiatek has a racket in her hand, it's a whole different story. With the poise of a veteran and the shots of a champion, she wrapped up a dominating run at Roland Garros, grabbing the last six games to beat Sofia Kenin 6-4, 6-1 in Saturday's final.
"Two years ago, I won a junior Grand Slam, and right now I'm here. It feels like such a short time," Swiatek said, her voice cracking. "I'm just overwhelmed."
Swiatek (pronounced shvee-ON'-tek) is the first Polish tennis player to win a major singles trophy and said, "I know it's pretty crazy back home" - where one newspaper's front page was splashed with the headline "Poland Garros" ahead of the women's singles title match.
When she smacked one last forehand winner to the corner to end things, Swiatek placed her right hand over her mouth then crouched, shaking her head.
Hard to believe? Maybe. This was, after all, only her seventh major tournament; she'd never been past the fourth round at a Grand Slam.
But the way she played for a fortnight in Paris - with powerful groundstrokes sent to corners, the occasional drop shot, terrific returning and impressive court coverage - made this outcome less of a surprise.
Swiatek lost only 28 games across seven matches and is the first woman to win the clay court major without ceding a set since Justine Henin in 2007. She also is the first teen to win the women's title at Roland Garros since Iva Majoli in 1997.
And Swiatek did it with victories over such opponents as 2018 champion Simona Halep and 2019 runner-up Marketa Vondrousova, both by scores of 6-1, 6-2.
So it made sense that Swiatek would be able to get past the fourth-seeded, sixth-ranked Kenin, even if the 21-year-old American was trying to earn her second Grand Slam title of 2020, with her February triumph at the Australian Open also her first major overall.
"A great tournament," Kenin told Swiatek. "A great match."
AP photo by Michel Euler / Sofia Kenin, a 21-year-old American, fell short in her bid for a second Grand Slam title this year and overall when she lost the French Open final to Poland's Iga Swiatek on Saturday in Paris.Kenin was 16-1 in Grand Slam matches this year, but she dealt with a leg injury in the second set and showed frustration by kicking her red-white-and-blue racket after lost points.
And then there was this: She had to play the composed Swiatek, who only recently completed her high school studies and listens to "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses before walking on court.
"I was just mentally consistent," said Swiatek, who travels with a sports psychologist and meditates during changeovers, breathing slowly with her eyes closed. "I felt like today was really stressful for me, so it was kind of hard."
This weekend is the culmination of an unusual two weeks, to say the least. The tournament was postponed from its traditional May-June slot to September-October because of the coronavirus pandemic; the recently rising number of COVID-19 cases in France led the government to limit the number of spectators allowed on the grounds to 1,000 each day.
Some top women, including 2019 champion Ash Barty and three-time major champ Naomi Osaka didn't enter the event; Serena Williams, whose 23 major women's singles titles include three from the French Open, withdrew before the second round with an injury.
The temperature was in the mid-50s, with a slight breeze, and the hundreds of fans scattered in Court Philippe Chatrier were mostly subdued - other than a group that would shout Swiatek's first name, stretching it out over several seconds each time to sound like "Eeeeeeeeeee-gah."
Swiatek began with a 3-0 run, taking 12 of the first 15 points, delivering four winners and zero unforced errors. Yet no one expected Kenin - self-described as "feisty" - to go quietly. She got on the board with a hold, then broke when Swiatek double-faulted, the first sign that the magnitude of the moment might be hitting her. Soon enough, it was 3-all.
However, Swiatek is nothing if not resilient. She served for the set at 5-3 and got broken, then responded right away by stealing yet another one of Kenin's service games.
The same thing happened to begin the second set: Kenin broke for a 1-0 edge, and Swiatek broke right back. She wouldn't lose another game on her way to her first tour-level title.
At the changeover at 2-1, Kenin left the court for a medical timeout, then returned with her left thigh wrapped. While Kenin was gone, Swiatek stayed warm by pulling on a white jacket and hitting some serves, earning applause from spectators.
When play resumed, Swiatek needed only 12 more minutes to wrap up the victory, finishing with a 25-10 edge in winners. All that was left was to hear the Polish national anthem - never before played after a major singles final - ring out in the stadium, check out her shiny trophy and go through the speeches and interviews.
After speaking for a bit, Swiatek asked, "Should I say something else?"
She was told by the emcee that she could if she wanted.
"I have no idea," Swiatek said. "Sorry."
She better practice up. The tennis world expects to hear more from her in the future.