PARIS — Iga Swiatek took a major step forward in her quest for a record fourth straight French Open title — and fifth overall — when she beat Elena Rybakina 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 on Sunday.
Swiatek, who has struggled for top form this year and whose last final was at Roland-Garros 12 months ago, trailed by a set and 2-0 but found her game when she needed it most to advance to the quarterfinals, where she will play Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.
How did she do it and what does it mean for her? Here are three takeaways from a potentially crucial win.
Swiatek found her serve
Rybakina, a former Wimbledon champion and the winner in Strasbourg on the eve of the French Open, was on fire in the first set, blasting 12 winners and putting Swiatek under constant pressure. The biggest problem for Swiatek was her serve, an area of her game she has been tweaking under the tutelage of her coach Wim Fissette, but which has been a struggle throughout the clay-court season.
As the first five games slipped away in little over 20 minutes, Swiatek was well below 50% on first serve, and when she needed to hit a second, she was winning just 20% of the points. She steadied the ship a little at the end of the set to at least get on the board, but her serve was…
