Iga Swiatek makes ominous start to French Open with ruthless first round win

Iga Swiatek made a flying start to her bid for a third successive Roland Garros crown.

The world number one from Poland spent exactly one hour on Court Philippe Chatrier as she dispatched French wild card Leolia Jeanjean 6-1 6-2.

Swiatek is bidding to become the first woman to win three straight French Opens since Justine Henin in 2007.

She arrived in Paris in fine form having won back-to-back titles on clay in Madrid and Rome.

“It feels like home here,” she said. “Hopefully, I’m going to be here as long as possible. These last tournaments gave me a lot and I managed to play tennis in any conditions and under any circumstances. Every tournament is different and the next chapter.”

Swiatek’s Roland Garros record now stands at 29 wins from 31 matches. Not quite Rafael Nadal levels, but not bad for a 22-year-old.

Asked if she feels like the ‘Queen of Clay’, Swiatek added: “I think it’s too early.

“I’m really proud of my achievements and this has always been my favourite surface. I will be watching Rafa’s match.

“I’m just at the beginning but I will try to take some lessons from him on being a good person and a good player.”

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova was also largely untroubled, the Czech beating Spain’s Rebeka Masarova 6-1 6-3.

Tunisian Ons Jabeur, beaten by Vondrousova in last year’s SW19 final, eased through 6-3 6-2 against American wild card Sachia Vickery, avenging a Roland Garros defeat by the same player in 2018.

Swiatek beats Leolia Jeanjean in the first round: How match unfolded

01:59 PM BST

Iga Swiatek post-match interview

“It feels like home, I am glad to be back. I feel like I am playing well and I hope I will be here as long as possible. I have been playing good tennis in any conditions, I do not take anything for granted but I am confident.”

Asked about Nadal, who is on court next, she said: “I have a way to go! He is a great player and a great person.”

01:57 PM BST

Swiatek 6-1, 6-2 Jeanjean

Iga Swiatek puts that game away with the minimum of first to win the second set 6-2.

01:54 PM BST

Swiatek 6-1, 5-2 Jeanjean*

The champ consolidates that with a hold and it’s last chance saloon time for the Frenchwoman at 2-5 and serving to stay in the match.

01:53 PM BST

Swiatek* 6-1, 4-2 Jeanjean

Swiatek puts the hammer down and breaks serve here, needing just one BP to do so.

01:47 PM BST

Swiatek 6-1, 3-2 Jeanjean*

The holder wraps this game up with a neat volley and it’s 3-2. But Jeanjean is making a decent stab of things in this set.

01:44 PM BST

Swiatek* 6-1, 2-2 Jeanjean

Three unforced errors in a row from Swiatek allow Jeanjean to hold her serve with a bit more in hand this time.

01:43 PM BST

Swiatek 6-1, 2-1 Jeanjean*

Swiatek holds.

01:34 PM BST

Swiatek* 6-1, 1-1 Jeanjean

Alas, normal service is soon resumed as IS puts the Jeanjean serve under pressure, crunching powerful backhands down the line and never letting her settle. We reach deuce. She breaks back.

01:29 PM BST

Swiatek 6-1, 0-1 Jeanjean*

But Jeanjean breaks in first game of second set! Well done, that’s a great effort. Swiatek hits a bit of a flat spot and some dogged returning gives the French player a foot in the door. Some uncharacteristic unforced errors there from IS.

01:26 PM BST

Iga Swiatek wins the first set 6-1

Iga won 90% of points on her first serve and had three break points, winning all of them. The Frenchwoman only one 11% of her points on second serve so clearly something to work on there for the world number 168, who is 28-years-old.

01:24 PM BST

Swiatek* 6-1 Jeanjean

Sorry to say, Jeanjean’s serve has not held up to a clinical, powerful assault from Swiatek and she’s broken once again as the Polish superstar wins the first set.

01:22 PM BST

New blogger, please!

Hello, Tyers here, relieving the mighty Uche Amako to take you through until the end of this match. All the signs are that the end might come quite soon for Léolia Jeanjean, the pride of Montpellier, who is now about to serve to stay in the first set.

01:19 PM BST

Swiatek 5-1 Jeanjean*

Double break consolidated by Swiatek as she holds to love. She’s won 9 out of 10 points on her first serve.

01:17 PM BST

Swiatek* 4-1 Jeanjean

Jeanjean moves to 40-15 but back-to-back forehand winners by Swiatek takes the game to deuce.

Break point for Swiatek when Jeanjean puts a volley long. Swiatek breaks! Swiatek forehand winner into the corner to secure the double break. The demoralising thing for Jeanjean is that she hasn’t played badly.

01:10 PM BST

Swiatek 3-1 Jeanjean*

Realy clean ball striking and aggression from Swiatek in the opening stages. Happy to take the ball on the rise and get on the front foot.

She gets caught out on a low bouncing ball from Jeanjean to make it 40-30 but she holds serve again to keep hold of her lead.

01:06 PM BST

‘Iga Swiatek a clay-court phenomenon to rival Rafael Nadal’

Want to know what makes Swiatek such an irresistible force on the clay?

Get the low down from Simon Briggs here.

01:05 PM BST

Swiatek* 2-1 Jeanjean

Relief for Jeanjean as she gets on the scoreboard with a service hold to 15 when Swiatek flicks a backhand long.

That should hopefully settle her down.

01:02 PM BST

Swiatek 2-0 Jeanjean*

Jeanjean is struggling to weather this early storm from Swiatek. The Pole is playing as though she has an afternoon tea reservation.

The roof is on Court Philippe Chatrier with the rain falling in Paris. All matches on the outside courts are currently suspended.

Swiatek holds to 30.

12:57 PM BST

First Set: Iga Swiatek* 1-0 Leolia Jeanjean (*denotes next server)

Swiatek is always a fast starter and unfortunately for Jeanjean she double faults to make it 15-30.

Swiatek then gets her opponent on the run and draws the error to earn two break points in the opening game.

Wow. Swiatek sends a message to Jeanjean with a blistering cross-court forehand return winner.

Ominous start.

12:51 PM BST

Play to start very soon

12:48 PM BST

Swiatek begins title defence

Hello and welcome to coverage from day two of the French Open as defending champion Iga Swiatek begins the defence of her title.

The Pole starts against French qualifier Leolia Jeanjean. Swiatek is the overwhelming favourite to win the title as she arrives in Paris on a 12-match winning streak.

Swiatek has won the Qatar Open, Indian Wells, Madrid Open and Italian Open.

“Two years ago it was all new for me, and I think I won so many matches also because nobody really expected it,” she said.

“Now it’s different. Now they are prepared, and I felt like I keep having a target on my back, because I’m No. 1.

“In 2022 it was a start for me, winning these big titles, but now I have proven that I can do this year by year.”

Ahead of the tournament, the world No 1 said she considers the Olympics to be her most important tournament because her father competed in the 1988 Seoul Games.

Swiatek’s father, Tomasz, represented Poland in the men’s Quadruple Sculls rowing event in Seoul, finishing seventh.

“Because of that I know that the Olympics are the most important event probably in sports overall,” Swiatek said.“Winning any medal would be a dream come true.

“In Tokyo, I remember how stressful it was. This year I’m trying to really keep my expectations low but really work hard to be prepared for the Olympics.

She lost to Spain’s Paula Badosa in the second round in Tokyo.

“I’ll try to do everything step by step, treat this tournament as any other one, even though these are the Olympics, not to put too much pressure on my shoulders,” Swiatek said.

Swiatek is bidding to become the first woman to win three consecutive Roland Garros titles since Justine Henin in 2007.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.