Iga Swiatek gave Poland its first-ever Olympic tennis medal after blanking Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the battle for bronze in Paris 2024 on Friday, Aug. 2.
Iga Swiatek recovered her deadly form on clay as she thrashed Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, 6-2, 6-2, to seize the bronze in Paris 2024 women's tennis on Friday, Aug. 2.
Swiatek thus earned a first-ever tennis medal for Poland as she gave her home country something to cheer about after a heartbreaking loss to Zheng Qinwen in the semis that dashed the heavy favorite's hope for the gold.
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After playing erratically to concede against Zheng in the semis, Swiatek was business as usual, breaking Schmiedlova five times to wrap up the match in just under an hour.
Heavily favored to take home the gold in the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Iga Swiatek instead settled for a still historic bronze for Poland. | Photo (c) International Tennis Federation
Tripping on an early blip in the third game of the first set where she got broken, Swiatek, four times a champion in this stadium which hosts Roland Garros, took 11 of the last 12 games in a display of her usual dominance.
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The 23-year-old Pole won 74 percent points off her first serve, coming up with 12 winners against 15 unforced errors.
The five-time Grand Slam champ was methodical in the match as she pushed her foe to commit 32 forced errors to prevail in their first-ever encounter.
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The 29-year-old Slovak beat Jasmine Paolini and Barbora Krejcikova, 2024 Roland Garros finalist and 2021 champ, respectively, in the third round and in the quarterfinals, but just could not find the answer against Swiatek, who just scored a three-peat in the Parisian major last June.
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Schmiedlova lost to Donna Vekic in the semis before being relegated to the bronze medal match against Swiatek.
Zheng and Vekic will battle for the gold on Saturday, Aug. 3.