Iga Swiatek used a towel to wipe tears from her eyes at the Paris Olympics after earning a bronze for Poland’s first tennis medal at any Summer Games by beating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia 6-2, 6-1 on Friday.

The match took just 59 minutes, and Swiatek played much more cleanly than she did a day earlier in a straight-set loss to Zheng Qinwen of China in the semifinals. That result ended Swiatek’s 25-match unbeaten streak at Roland Garros, the clay-court facility used for the French Open each year and for the 2024 Olympics.

After losing to Zheng on Thursday, Swiatek skipped any questions from print reporters in the mixed zone area for interviews. Her face flushed and eyes red, Swiatek did not break stride as she passed journalists, saying only: “Sorry. Next time.”

The No. 1-ranked Swiatek was a popular pick to leave Paris with gold, in large part because she has won four of the past five French Open titles, including the last three in a row. She also won the 2022 U.S. Open.

Schmiedlova defeated both the reigning Wimbledon champion, Barbora Krejcikova, and the runner-up there and at the French Open this year, Jasmine Paolini, on her way to the semifinals, before losing to Donna Vekic of Croatia. Schmiedlova is a 29-year-old who is ranked 67th and has one fourth-round appearance at a Slam. That came last year at Roland Garros.

Alcaraz ready for ‘special moment:’  Carlos Alcaraz said it will be a ‘special moment for me, in my life, in my career’ when he bids to add Olympic gold to his four Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros on Sunday. The 21-year-old became the youngest man to reach the Olympics final on Friday when he thrashed Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-1, 6-1 in just 75 minutes.

“The final is going to be a really special moment for me, in my life, in my career, so I’m going to try and enjoy this moment,” said Alcaraz.

“It’s going to be difficult, but it’s also going to be special. I will try to be focused on myself and try not to hear all this, all the fans, all the people that say ‘I’m going to win’.

“I just want to give 100 per cent my best tennis and hopefully I reach my goal to get the gold.”

Spanish star Alcaraz, playing on the same Roland Garros court where he won a maiden French Open in June, broke the 19th-ranked Auger-Aliassime three times in the first set, racing away with six consecutive games.

Alcaraz broke again in the fourth and sixth games of the second set on his way to claiming a fourth successive win over the Canadian having lost the first three of the pair’s series.

“It was a very complete performance and I played at a very high level from start to finish,” said Alcaraz. “I had very good feelings and sensations, I’m so happy.”

He added: “The final is very important for me and the Spanish people but I try not to think about how important it is and will focus on the match.”

Wimbledon champion Alcaraz is the fourth Spanish man to reach the Olympic men’s final after Jordi Arrese at Barcelona in 1992, Sergi Bruguera in Atlanta four years later and Rafael Nadal who won gold at Beijing in 2008.

Agence France-Presse