French Open: Iga Swiatek beats Elena Rybakina and extends her bid for a 4th title in a row

PARIS — Iga Swiatek needed this type of turnaround, this sort of victory, given the tough-for-her past 12 months.

So after she went from dropping eight of the first nine games against Elena Rybakina in the French Open's fourth round Sunday, after she came through in the clutch, Swiatek responded with quite a reaction.

Swiatek hung in there until she could put together a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 comeback over 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina, extending her tournament winning streak to 25 matches and her bid for a record fourth consecutive championship at the clay-court major at Roland-Garros.

When she took the last two games and ended things with a forehand winner, Swiatek yelled, rocked back on her heels and put her fist to her chest.

''I needed that kind of win to feel these feelings that I'm able to win under pressure,'' Swiatek said. ''For sure, it's a great confirmation for me. ... I'm happy that I fought, and I also problem-solved.''

The big-serving Rybakina got off to a stunning start, leading 5-0 after less than 20 minutes and grabbing 24 of the initial 32 points. She was responsible for 10 of the match's first 12 winners.

''I knew that (to) continue like that,'' Rybakina said, ''is not going to be easy.''

In the second set, Swiatek double-faulted to close the first game, then turned to her team in the stands with her palms up and said something; soon she was down 2-0. There was a game later in that set where she double-faulted three times.

"I don't think that happened before," Swiatek said.

Iga Swiatek improved to 39-2 in her French Open career

That, though, is when Swiatek suddenly transformed back into what she's been so often in recent seasons: a seemingly invincible force on red clay who has won four of the past five titles at the French Open, where she is 39-2 for her career.

At the outset, Swiatek had trouble dealing with Rybakina's power and repeatedly was forced into errors. Given the rough stretch since June 2024 for Swiatek, a 23-year-old from Poland, maybe it would not have been entirely shocking for her to take a loss Sunday.

Swiatek hasn't reached a final in a year and is now No. 5 in the rankings

She hasn't reached any final since earning the trophy in Paris a year ago and slid from No. 1 to No. 5 in the rankings.

That rut includes a loss in the semifinals at the 2024 Olympics, contested at Roland-Garros; she ended up with a bronze. Later last season, she was banned for a month after testing positive for a banned substance; her explanation was accepted that the result was unintentional and caused by a contaminated medicine.

On Tuesday, Swiatek will play No. 13 Elina Svitolina, who is 0-4 in previous French Open quarterfinals. No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka faces No. 8 Zheng Qinwen in Tuesday's other women's match.

Svitolina saved three match points to get past 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1. All of the top eight women's seeds reached the fourth round; No. 4 Paolini was the first to exit.

Swiatek was almost the next.

One key moment across the 2 1/2 hours that perhaps presaged Rybakina's unraveling came when she was a point away from a second break in the second set and had the chance to strike a forehand into an empty section of the court. Instead, she hit it right at Swiatek. When the ball came back over the net, Rybakina netted a jumping overhead.

Soon, Swiatek was imposing herself on groundstroke exchanges. She moved back for returns and those became more effective as Rybakina's first-serve percentage dipped from 56% in the first set to 45% in the second and 43% in the third.

In the second set, Swiatek reeled off five straight games and, in one burst, 10 straight points.

What happened in the last set between Swiatek and Rybakina in Paris?

Still, not all was smooth sailing in the third.

Swiatek faced three break points while trailing 3-2 but escaped from that predicament. After breaking to lead 4-3, Swiatek double-faulted to make it 4-all.

In the next game, Swiatek appeared to have a break for a 5-4 edge when Rybakina's second serve was ruled a fault. But chair umpire Kader Nouni overruled the line judge's out call. When Swiatek told him Rybakina didn't argue about the original ruling, Nouni replied: ''It's my responsibility to check it.''

Said Swiatek: ''I just refocused immediately. It wasn't such a big deal for me.''

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Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis