- Iga Swiatek has won her last 20 matches at the French Open
- The Pole has also conceded only 14 games in her last four matches
- Recommended bet: Iga Swiatek -7.5 games on handicap

Many would have expected to see Iga Swiatek in the final of this year's Women's French Open. Few would have expected her opponent to be Italian Jasmine Paolini.

While clay-court specialist Swiatek has been swatting aside the likes of Marketa Vondrousova and Coco Gauff en route to the final, Paolini has been quietly going about her business, claiming the scalps of Elena Rybakina and Mirra Andreeva.

This will be the Italian's first ever Grand Slam final but she faces an uphill battle to beat Swiatek, who has won each of the last two French Open titles and is looking to become only the third woman to win three years in a row at Roland Garros.

The stats

Swiatek has won each of her last 20 matches at the French Open, having won the clay-court Grand Slam in both 2022 and 2023.

The Pole has also won five of her six matches at this year's French Open in straight sets and has conceded only 14 games in her last four matches.

This is the first time Paolini has gone beyond the second round of the French Open and she is appearing in her maiden Grand Slam final.

Swiatek leads the head-to-head between these players 2-0, having beaten Paolini on clay in Prague in 2018 and on the hard courts at the US Open in 2022.

Prediction

The weight of expectation is on the shoulders of Swiatek but she has shown time and time again that she can handle it.

This is not her first rodeo - indeed it is Swiatek's third successive French Open final - and she should comfortably come out on top.

It is hard to ignore her 20 consecutive wins at this tournament and even harder to ignore the resurgence she has demonstrated since her second-round wobble against Naomi Osaka.

Since that match, in which Swiatek had to save a match point, the Pole has eased to four successive 2-0 wins, including a double-bagel 6-0 6-0 mauling of Anastasia Potapova.

She dropped just 14 games across those four matches and is looking as formidable as ever on the Parisian clay.

As for Paolini, the win over Rybakina was eye-catching but she was the only seeded player the Italian has faced in this tournament.

Her route has been relatively straightforward but she now finds herself in uncharted territory against one of the fiercest clay-court talents to play in the women's game.

There is only one way this match can go and Swiatek is worth a bet to win at least eight games more than the 12th seed on the Philippe-Chatrier Court on Saturday.

Back Iga Swiatek -7.5 games on the handicap at 59/50 with LiveScore Bet