"It's Swiatek against the field" - Navratilova gives assessment ahead of Roland Garros

With the 2022 edition of Roland Garros a few days away, WTA legend Martina Navratilova believes Iga Swiatek has the best chance of lifting the trohpy.

Although there are other former French Open champions in the field, the former World No.1 is of the opinion that the Polish star is the odds-on favorite to prevail in Paris.

“Any of these players can win the tournament, obviously, because they’ve won it before,” said Navratilova, a two-time French Open winner. “Particularly, Simona Halep seems to be in a good space. But Iga is totally sitting in the driver’s seat. It’s Swiatek against the field.”

Swiatek has won five of her career eight titles – Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart and Rome – consecutively and in a span of less than three months. The first three wins came on hard courts, and she’s continued that dominance on clay, winning a total of 28 straight matches. It’s easy to forget that she won’t turn 21 until the last day of this month.

“You can’t be any hotter than she is right now. She’s playing great and she’s healthy – that’s a fantastic combination," said Navratilova. "She’s fresh and battle-tough at the same time. She looks pretty unbeatable on any surface, particularly the clay now. So we have an overwhelming favorite going into the French, when it was wide open last year. Clearly, the pressure is not bothering her. She’s just embracing that. It’s great to see – when you are the favorite, and you keep on winning.”