Swiatek lands first-ever medal for Poland
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek defeated Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-2 6-1 to win bronze - the first medal of any colour for Poland at an Olympic Tennis Event.
The Polish star was moved to tears upon completion of the match, which lasted just 59 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.
“It’s amazing. Honestly me and my sister were raised in this spirit that the Olympics are the most important tournament," she said. "That’s why it wasn’t the easiest tournament. This makes it even better."
Swiatek, whose father Tomasz competed in rowing at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, said she was particularly pleased to win a medal with him watching from the stands.
"I’m proud of myself I could do it. I’m happy [my Dad] was here to see it. This is for sure a great place for me to be and play. I’m happy that besides Roland Garros titles, I could add another success to it.”
Swiatek was very much the favourite to take gold in the women’s singles at this year’s Games. The 23-year-old has a phenomenal record at the home of the French Open and following her shock exit at the hands of China’s Qinwen Zheng in yesterday’s semi-finals, it was back to business as usual for the four-time clay court Grand Slam champion.
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Slovakia’s Schmiedlova, who had already produced two stunning victories this week against higher-ranked opposition, defeating Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova in the third round and quarter-finals respectively, couldn’t replicate her earlier form in Friday’s bronze medal match.
Swiatek broke twice in succession to close out the first set 6-2 before allowing her opponent just one game in the second set in what proved to be a lopsided encounter.
Despite finishing on the wrong end of the scoreline, Schmiedlova will try to take the positives from what has been an extraordinary tournament for her personally.
“It was a great experience,” said the Slovakian. “I learned a lot. I played against only Top 30 players six matches in a row. It’s definitely one of the greatest weeks of my tennis career and I’ll try to take only positives.”
Schmiedlova was also pleased that her success on the court brought tennis in her home country to a wider audience that would not otherwise necessarily be aware of either her as an individual or even the sport in general.
“Some people watched tennis that never watched tennis before,” she said. “So, it’s very nice for my country.”