Against all odds, Iga Swiatek is not in a final at Roland Garros. Gold at the Paris Olympics eluded the world No. 1 and four-time French Open champion, who lost to Qinwen Zheng in the semifinals before beating Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova for the bronze medal on Friday.
Now it is Zheng who will improbably battle Donna Vekic for gold on Saturday afternoon. They will be facing each other for the third time in their careers and it will a proverbial rubber match, as the head-to-head series is tied 1-1. Vekic won in straight sets at the 2021 tournament in Courmayeur before Zheng prevailed 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 last season in Zhuhai.
Vekic is the underdog in this one, but she cannot be discounted. The 28-year-old has been incredible this summer; she was runner-up on the grass courts of Bad Homburg, made a run to the Wimbledon semifinals, and is now through to the final in Paris. Although Vekic generally prefers faster surfaces, her return game has been incredible this week on clay. The Croat has broken serve an amazing 27 times through five matches.
Zheng is playing great, too, but the 21-year-old from China did not fare well under the pressure of the Australian Open final earlier this season (lost to Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2). She was a big underdog in that contest; now the pressure is on her as the favorite in what is probably the second-biggest match of her career.
Don’t be surprised if Vekic pulls off the upset to secure a surprising gold medal.
Pick: Vekic in 3
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I’m rooting for Vekic, she deserves to win something big.
China are a different beast when it comes to the Olympics. They give more value to an Olympic medal than Grand slams.