Iga Swiatek has defeated Karolina Muchova 6-2 5-7 6-4 in an exciting final match of Roland Garros 2023. The Pole has won her 4th career's Grand Slam title and defended the last year's victory in Paris, lifting up the trophy for the 3rd time here.
The pre-match odds did not give too much hope for such an intense battle as it happened on the court. Muchova was rated as an underdog ahead of her first ever Grand Slam final appearance, with an odd 6.15. The on-court events looked like expected till the middle of second set, as Swiatek has expectedly dominated the opening set and moved up into 3-0 lead in second one quickly. It was still just a single break advantage though, and Muchova managed to fight back from this, leveling the score and moving into the 5-4 lead. The Czech did not serve for this set in first attempt, but regained her advantage in the following game and surprisingly forced the decider after 72 minutes of battle in second set.
Muchova has followed the blow and started the third set from the front foot. The Czech gained another break in first game, but Swiatek leveled, 3 games later. Muchova has stayed in front a big chance, moving up into the lead again after gaining a break in 7th game. The Czech was leading 4-3 and the opportunity for her to make a sensation in a Grand Slam final looked really serious at this moment. Muchova could focus just to win 2 service games since then, but did not manage to do so, as Swiatek raised up her level in a crucial moment and won 3 games in a row to change the fates of deciding set and win the final after 2:49 hours of battle.
Both the finalists can be satisfied with their great run during the fortnight in Paris. Despite winning another Grand Slam title in her career, Swiatek has denied losing the world's number one spot which was in danger due to the fact of defending 2000 points for last year's victory and the good run of form of Aryna Sabalenka, who was virtually leading the live rankings up until losing to Muchova in the semifinals. Swiatek has now 928 points advantage before the grass season and moved up into second place in WTA Race ranking, being just 375 points behind Sabalenka.
Karolina Muchova was really close to make a huge upset in the final and get her first career's Grand Slam title, but even despite losing it in the decisive games, it was a fairytale run for the Czech. Muchova has started her campaign in Paris from a tough match against 8th seeded Maria Sakkari and performed an amazing comeback from an almost lost position in the semifinal against Sabalenka. The Czech was close to turn over the fates in final match as well, but even if it not happened, she has proved to belong into group of world class players and will definitely be a contender for a biggest stakes in the following parts of the season. Muchova advanced into her career's highest 16th place in WTA rankings and moved into 5th place in WTA Race list.
