Top 5 matches at the 2023 French Open ft. Iga Swiatek, Holger Rune, Karolina Muchova and more
The 2023 French Open witnessed Novak Djokovic winning his 23rd Grand Slam title. The Serb took down Casper Ruud in the final to become the first male tennis player to win 23 Grand Slam titles.
Meanwhile, the women's final saw Iga Swiatek clash with Karolina Muchova. The Pole won a hard-fought contest to win her third French Open title.
The almost three weeks long French Open was full of surprising moments and major upsets. Players were giving their best to win every single match while their opponents were trying their finest to stop them from succeeding.
Amid all the exciting matches at Roland Garros this year, a few stood out. Thus, without further ado, let's take a look at the top five matches in the 2023 French Open.
5. Jannik Sinner vs Daniel Altmaier (second round)
When the French Open started, Jannik Sinner was seen as a favorite to win the silverware. However, his campaign was cut short by Germany's Daniel Altmaier in just the second round.
Their clash at Roland Garros was only the second meeting between the two young tennis players. They squared off for the first time at the 2022 US Open, and interestingly, the match was also a five-set skirmish, which was eventually captured by Jannik Sinner.
Meeting for the second time at a Grand Slam, three out of the five sets were forced into a tie-break. Moreover, the unseeded German managed to win two of them despite looking good in the first set 6-7(0-7).
After five hours and 26 minutes of hardship at Court Suzanne Lenglen, Daniel Altmaier recorded an unforgettable win over eighth-seeded Jannik Sinner 6-7 (0-7), 7-6 (9-7), 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 7-5.
4. Andrey Rublev vs Lorenzo Sonego (third round)
Andrey Rublev was expected to have a deeper run at the clay-court Major but Lorenzo Sonego had different plans in mind. After a worthy battle in the first set, the Russian doubled his lead in the second set with a bagel.
However, Sonego then managed to pull an impossible-looking comeback against the World No. 7. In the third set, the Italian took down Rublev 6-3. After losing the set, the 25-year-old became visibly agitated. He was seen throwing his tennis racket and even smashing it on the ground.
The excessive aggression became a major reason behind his downfall in the clay-court Major. The fourth set went into a tie-break, which was also claimed by the 28-year-old Italian. Thus, he completed the comeback with a score of 6-3 in the last set, keeping his French Open campaign going.
3. Karolina Muchova vs Aryna Sabalenka (semifinal)
Karolina Muchova had a brilliant campaign at the 2023 French Open that she is unlikely to forget. She started her campaign against eighth seed Maria Sakkari, who failed to win a set against the Czech.
After a praiseworthy first-round win, Muchova recorded rampaging victories over Nadia Podoroska, Irina-Camelia Begu, Elina Avanesyan, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach the semifinal of the clay-court Major for the first time.
Playing against second seed Aryna Sabalenka, who took down Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinal, was a tough challenge for Muchova. However, the match turned out to be one of the most interesting matches of the tournament. The first set was forced into a tie-breaker, which was eventually captured by the Czech 7-5.
Consequently, the second set also went into a tie-break, as Sabalenka wasn't ready to let go of the match. Fans expected Muchova to give the second seed tough competition few expected her to defeat the Belarusian. However, she managed just that, winning the last set 7-5.
2. Holger Rune vs Francisco Cerundolo (fourth round)
Tennis prodigy Holger Rune is currently one of the top stars in the sport. However, Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo did manage to cause him problems in the fourth round of the French Open when the first set was forced into a tie-break.
After winning the initial four sets alternately, the two players had to sort out the result in the fifth set. The last set turned out to be a battle filled with physical as well as mental battles.
Cerundolo, who took down ninth seed Taylor Fritz in the third round, failed to find an opening against the Dane in the decider, as he lost the match 7-6 (10-7) in the tie-breaker of the fifth set.
1. Iga Swiatek vs Karolina Muchova (final)
The women's singles final of the 2023 French Open was a contest worthy of the competition. Karolina Muchova stormed into the final of the French Open after defeating second seed Aryna Sabalenka in a hard-fought match in the semifinals.
The final was also expected to be a top-class fixture and the match started with Iga Swiatek thoroughly dominating the first set. After the Pole won the first set 6-2, it seemed like the match would end on an easy note for the World No. 1.
Nevertheless, the Czech stunned Swiatek to capture the second set with a score of 5-7. The ambiance at Court Philippe-Chatrier was getting intense; it was the first time that Iga Swiatek lost a set in a Grand Slam final.
The deciding set was another hard-fought battle as both players were pushing each other to their absolute limits. However, the Pole managed to find an opening and with more accurate serves, she managed to win her third French Open title.
The 22-year-old wasn't able to hold back her emotions as she was seen crying following her victory.