Iga Swiatek did what practically everybody predicted she would do, by winning a fourth Roland Garros title on Saturday.
But that does not make the feat any less outstanding.
Swiatek herself described the immense satisfaction and pride – and no doubt a hint of relief – she felt after overwhelming Jasmine Paolini 6-2 6-1 in a 68-minute finale.
“Oh, it means a lot. This tournament has been pretty surreal with its beginning and with (the) second round, and then I was able to get my game better and better every match,” said Swiatek, who survived a match point in the second round against Naomi Osaka.
“I'm really proud of myself, because the expectations obviously have been pretty high from the outside. Pressure, as well.
“I'm happy that I just went for it and I was ready to deal with all of this.”
Those expectations rose with every win Swiatek notched as she eventually completed one of the finest clay-court seasons in professional tennis history.
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The Polish star has now won 19 straight matches on clay after sweeping the Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros titles, a prestigious treble that only Serena Williams had achieved more than a decade ago.
And by winning three straight Roland Garros titles, Swiatek again matched Williams, the last player to win three consecutive titles at the one Slam (US Open 2012-2014).
The last player to three-peat in Paris was Justine Henin in 2007.
“Iga is the boss,” Henin told wtatennis.com.
“We can see how hard it is to win and to win and to win. It’s tough to stay at the top of the game for such a long time. Iga, she has something special for this.
“I think she is really strong, and if she stays healthy, keeps the motivation, she can win a lot here.”
The Belgian great then added: “I think she can win more than I won, for sure.”
By winning her fourth title in five years at Roland Garros, Swiatek is one of just three women – the other being Henin and Helen Wills – to do so in the last 100 years.
Swiatek’s win over Paolini was the most lopsided French final since Henin’s 6-1 6-2 dissection of Ana Ivanovic in 2007.
Paolini was in awe of what she confronted at Court Philippe Chatrier in her first major final.
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“I never played a player that has this intensity before in my life,” said the Italian, who led by an early break in the first set before losing 10 straight games.
“She's taking the balls early, taking time to you, but also using rotation. She can defend really, really well.
“I think to play her here, it's something different. She won already four titles, and she's still 22 years old. These numbers are not, let's say, normal, (they) are something unbelievable.”
Paolini was perhaps unfortunate to encounter Swiatek at this stage of the tournament, given finals are where the world No.1 is at her ruthless best.
Swiatek has won her past nine finals – dropping just two sets – and improved her record in tournament deciders to a staggering 22-4.
With her 2022 US Open triumph plus four French victories, Swiatek matches Monica Seles as the only other woman in the Open era to go a perfect 5-0 in their first five major finals.
But it was not only the final in which Swiatek was dropping few games.
In the second week of the tournament, beginning with her crushing 6-0 6-0 defeat of Anastasia Potapova, Swiatek lost a total of just 11 games in her final four matches. Among her victims were reigning Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova, and reigning US Open champion Coco Gauff.
Only two other players – the great Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert – have surrendered so few games across the final four rounds en route to major triumphs.
How symbolic it was, then, that both Navratilova and Evert were at the presentation to hand Swiatek her latest Grand Slam trophy.
“Unmatched,” was how Evert described Swiatek on clay. “My results were (the best on clay) but not my game.”
Swiatek has equalled, and in some cases surpassed, the achievements of WTA icons with her latest Roland Garros triumph, yet Evert remains the standard-bearer among women in Paris.
Her seven titles – the first coming exactly 50 years ago in 1974 – and 29-match winning streak are Open-era records.
With her win over Paolini, Swiatek improved on Steffi Graf’s 20-match winning streak at Roland Garros and now stands unbeaten in her last 21 matches at the venue.
As for seven titles? Paolini believes it’s a record Swiatek can reel in.
“Definitely,” she laughed. “She's 22 years old. She has already four. I think, yes, she can win three more, but I don't know. Let's see.
“Every year it's tough to win a tournament. She already won four times, but yeah, I think she can do it.”