Iga Swiatek could face her kryptonite on way to the Olympic final
By Lee Vowell
There is no doubt that Iga Swiatek should be the massively heavy favorite to win Olympic gold in 2024. In her only appearance at the Summer Games, she reached the second round in 2020. This year, though, Olympic tennis will be held at the same venue that the French Open is held. This means the surface will be Swiatek's beloved clay.
Few players have dominated Roland Garros as Swiatek has dominated over the last five years. She has won the French Open in four of the last five years. The Pole is only 23 years old. There is a decent chance she will reach Rafael Nadal's record of 14 Roland Garros titles. Her career record on clay is 132-17.
The issue for Swiatek might be that as part of her draw, she may have to face Jelena Ostapenko in the quarterfinals. Ostapenko is a fine player and is seeded tenth at the Olympics, but for whatever reason, her skills have been too much for the player who has dominated the WTA rankings for much of two years.
Iga Swiatek could face Jelena Ostapenko at the 2024 Paris Olympics
Swiatek has faced Ostapenko four times and never beaten her. At least, in the last two meetings, Swiatek has won the first set before dropping the next two. Again, the Latvian is not a bad player, but no one would argue she is among the best ever. Swiatek likely is, and yet she cannot beat Ostapenko. It is one of those odd anomalies that happens in sports sometimes.
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Swiatek also faces a potentially tough matchup in the third round against Diana Shnaider. Shanider comes in as a neutral player since she cannot be affiliated with Russia due to the war with Ukraine. She is seeded 15 and has never faced Swiatek. The 20-year-old has won three titles this year, though.
The Pole could possibly face Naomi Osaka in the semifinals. The Japanese player has never won the Olympics either, but the matchup is interesting because Osaka gave Swiatek an extremely difficult match at the French Open this year. A rematch would make for must-watch tennis.
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