"Pretty quickly, pretty weird" - Iga Swiatek surprised with herself after winning shortest match of her career with double bagel in French Open 4R
Iga Swiatek was at her clinical and ruthless best during her 6-0, 6-0 demolition of Anastasia Potapova in the fourth round of the French Open on Sunday, June 2. As a result, the match was done and dusted within just 40 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier. In her post-match, on-court interview, the World No. 1 laid bare her surprise at how swiftly the contest ended.
Swiatek needed to win only 48 points to engineer Potapova's exit, the lowest points tally she has racked up in a match at this year's Roland Garros. Potapova, meanwhile, could only muster a dismal 10 points. The Russian faltered repeatedly on her own service games as well, which was reflected by the double bagel Swiatek inflicted on her.
As far as match duration goes, the win against Potapova marked Swiatek's shortest-ever match on the WTA tour, surpassing her victory by the same margin against Karolina Pliskova in the final of the 2021 Italian Open. On that occasion, the Pole took 46 minutes to dispatch Pliskova.
After the match, Swiatek revealed that she had not been keeping an eye on the score and was mostly focusing on her own game. However, she admitted that the entire experience felt "pretty weird".
"I was just really focused and really in the zone, wasn't really looking at the score so I just continued playing my game, working on stuff I wanted to work on. It went pretty quickly...pretty weird," Swiatek said.
Iga Swiatek to clash against reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the French Open quarterfinals
It will be defending French Open champion against reigning Wimbledon winner in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, as Swiatek is slated to face Marketa Vondrousova on Tuesday, June 4. Vondrousova reached the quarterfinals after a routine 6-4, 6-2 victory over Olga Danilovic on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Swiatek and Vondrousova have faced each other on three previous occasions on the WTA tour, with the Pole having won all three of those matches. Their last match came in the round-robin phase of the 2023 WTA Finals. On that occasion, Swiatek came out on top with a 7-6(3), 6-0 win.
Co-incidentally, the Pole and Czech's first-ever WTA Tour-level encounter was played out in the first round of the 2020 French Open, which Swiatek won 6-1, 6-2. That year, the Pole went on to win her maiden Grand Slam title at Roland Garros after getting the better of Sofia Kenin in the final.