American tennis legend Chris Evert is predicting Iga Swiatek to win the French Open this year.
Swiatek has a strong record on clay, boasting a 27-2 win-loss record on the surface since 2022. The 21-year-old lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final last weekend, her first defeat on the surface since losing to Caroline Garcia in the 2022 Poland Open quarter-finals last July.
Nevertheless Evert believes the world No. 1, who has picked up titles in Doha and Stuttgart this year, will triumph in Paris.
“I think Iga Swiatek,” Evert told members of the media ahead of the French Open, which will be live on Eurosport and discovery+.
“Just with watching her the last few weeks, I liked the way she’s pacing herself. She didn’t play Miami, she didn’t play the Billie Jean King Cup. She’s being smart about her training, and pacing herself and her rest. She just she looks primed.
“Also, clay is her best surface and is the first one she won. I think she’s only lost two matches on clay since last year, if I’m not mistaken.
“You have to have a great defence and a great offence and she has both – she just takes the ball out of your hand. She dictates every point because she moves in and hits the ball early.
“She runs down everything, she knows the right shot to hit, depending on her positioning in the court. I think that one area she can improve is her serve and I think if anyone is to beat her they’ve got to jump on her second serve.”
World No. 2 Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open in January, has emerged victorious in two of her last three meetings against Swiatek.
Evert believes the Belarusian is Swiatek’s biggest rival for this year’s title at Roland Garros.
“Aryna Sabalenka has the power to overpower Iga,” Evert said.
“She will have to be consistent if she’s going to overpower and she’s going to get a lot of winners, but she’s got to cut down the errors.
“I love the way she’s playing as well, week to week, she’s clearly established herself as the number two player in the world and she knows how she’s just so much better with her patience in the points. She’s better with patience with herself.”
When asked who else could beat Swiatek, Evert also backed her compatriots Jessica Pegula, who is No. 3 in the world, and 2022 French Open finalist Coco Gauff.
“Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff because I’m American,” Evert said.
“I’m kind of looking to see how they do – Pegula is as solid as a rock, her mentality is so professional.
“She’s so focused, she’s so calm out there, she’s willing to take more chances. Now she’s willing to step it up, as we saw when she beat Iga which is great.
“She’s going to have to play that way. She’s going to have to step up her level, and really go for more shots and be willing to take chances if she wants to win the title.
“And then Coco. You know if you were to ask me, when she was 15 and when I saw her beat Venus – if you’d asked me it when she’s 19, would she have won a major, I would have said yes. I thought by now she would have won a major; she came close last year at the French.
“I just think that forehand and that extreme western grip has delayed her first major, it’s held her back a little bit. She’s been on the Tour for four years. She has the experience. Now she has the confidence. She’s got good nerves. She’s got an excellent serve and a world-class backhand.”
The 2023 French Open runs from May 28 to June 11.
