Iga Swiatek crushes Coco Gauff to win French Open in Paris

Polish star extends unbeaten run to 35 matches in dominant display at Roland Garros

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  Poland's Iga Swiatek during the trophy ceremony after beating Coco Gauff for the French Open in Paris on June 4, 2022. AFP

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  Iga Swiatek of Poland celebrates with the trophy. Getty

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  Coco Gauff reacts during the trophy ceremony. AFP

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  Iga Swiatek of Poland after beating Coco Gauff to win the French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on June 4, 2022. EPA

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  Iga Swiatek embraces Coco Gauff at the end of the match. Getty

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  Coco Gauff plays a forehand against Iga Swiatek. Getty

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  Coco Gauff found it tough going. Getty

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  Coco Gauff plays a shot against Poland's Iga Swiatek. AP

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  Poland's Iga Swiatek reacts during the women's singles final at the French Open. Reuters

World No 1 Iga Swiatek dismantled American Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-3 to claim her second French Open title on Saturday and stretch her winning streak to 35 matches.

The Polish star's unbeaten run equals the achievement of Venus Williams in 2000 as the longest this century, and she has now won her past six tournaments.

Swiatek has emerged as the dominant figure in the women's game, with 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams out of action for nearly a year and three-time major winner Ash Barty announcing in March she would retire at the age of 25.

The 21-year-old needed only 68 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier to claim the victory and immediately celebrated in the players' box with her friends and family.

A disconsolate Gauff was left sitting on her seat in tears after a nervous performance, punctuated by 23 unforced errors and three double faults.

The 18-year-old American came up short in her bid to become the youngest Grand Slam singles champion since Maria Sharapova won Wimbledon in 2004.

Swiatek, only the 10th woman to win multiple French Opens in the Open era, lost just one set in the tournament - against China's Zheng Qinwen in the fourth round.

She has now won all three of her career meetings with Gauff, who was playing in her first major final.

Gauff will now turn her attentions to Sunday's doubles final, where she will face home favourites Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic alongside compatriot Jessica Pegula.

Swiatek improved her remarkable record in finals, having won her last nine on the WTA Tour.

Gauff looked nervous in the opening exchanges and a flurry of unforced errors handed Swiatek a break in the very first game.

The 18th seed found herself 3-0 and a double break down just 16 minutes into the match, as Swiatek's powerful backhand helped her win a lengthy third game on her fifth break point.

Gauff finally got on the board with a scrappy hold to the delight of the crowd, but she had dropped a set for the first time in the tournament just minutes later.

Swiatek was not playing her best, but a cross-court backhand winner brought up two set points and she took the second opportunity when Gauff fired wide.

The Pole gifted her opponent a potential route back into the match, making four unforced errors to throw away her serve in the first game of the second set.

Swiatek recomposed herself though as the mistakes continued to come from Gauff, breaking back to level at 2-2.

She made it five straight games to move within one of the title, losing only five points in the process.

Gauff dug deep to force Swiatek to serve for the trophy.

But the top seed did just that on her first match point, dropping to the red clay in celebration as Gauff sent a return flying long.