2020 Roland Garros Final: [54] Iga 'Silent Terminator’ Swiatek vs [4] Sofia ‘Crazy Dad’ Kenin

Who will win the French Open final?


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zvelf

Hall of Fame
Will we get a new superstar with Swiatek or will Kenin prove her Aussie win was no fluke?

Discuss.


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Kenin is the only perfect player on the WTA.
She has no weakness.
She also has the friendliest personality, if you've seen her interviews.
 
Doubt anything like this has ever happened. World number 54 is favored over world number 6 in a major final.
That is truly amazing…another weird thing during this weird year. Then again, the oddsmakers probably noticed that Kenin got double-bagelled by Vika 2 weeks ago.

Swiatek looks like she has a really good game and it will be interesting to see what her nerves are like after making the final in her first Slam tournament. If she plays without nerves and wins, there is no question that she will become a multiple-Slam champion in the future - she’s got the game for it and that will show that she has that innate self-belief at a young age that true champions have.

Nice to see more WTA players hitting the ball with heavy topspin like Iga.
 
As exciting as Swiatek has been to watch, I weirdly find myself rooting for Kenin here. Not sure why, maybe latent patriotism.
 
I will be very, very disappointed if Swiatek's run ends with a loss to Kenin, of all people.

Solid player, but basically the David Ferrer of the WTA.

That's depressing. Being another "David Ferrer" means watching the majors hardware and credit from a sad distance--forever.
 
That's depressing. Being another "David Ferrer" means watching the majors hardware and credit from a sad distance--forever.

Stylistically reminds me of Ferrer. Makes you think about what grand slam success Ferrer might've had if Big 4 didn't exist.
 
Swiatek has the bigger weapons, but so did Kvitova. Kenin is a disrupter and can cause players with bigger games to be "off." Plus, she has the confidence of being a Slam champ. But, if Swiatek can execute and not be overcome by the occasion, she could win - while Kenin can certainly disrupt a bigger game, we've also seen her, at times, be overwhelmed by bigger games.

That said, while I think either could win, In my mind, Kenin is the favorite.
 
I do get crazy dad vibes from Kenin. Maybe not Dokic-grade, but she ALWAYS looks like she is moving with purpose, as if being pulled around the court by fear. Is there an actual crazy dad or is this just the vibe?
 
He could just be super intense and their relationship just has that dynamic. Wasn't Sharapova's dad like that - thought I don't remember him being as bad.

Yeah, Kenin's dad seems somewhat "extra" but a level or two below Capriati, Pierce, Dokic
 
He could just be super intense and their relationship just has that dynamic. Wasn't Sharapova's dad like that - thought I don't remember him being as bad.

Yeah, Kenin's dad seems somewhat "extra" but a level or two below Capriati, Pierce, Dokic

Yeah, Sharapova's dad was just as bad. I'll never forget his throat slitting motion at the USO one year. Pretty disgusting(even NFL players can't do that). At least he stayed away once she got older and got a life of her own. But he never sat next to his daughter's opponent coach in a nearly completely empty stadium during a pandemic like this clown has.

As far as Kenin's dad being a level below Capriati, Pierce, Dokic, how would you know? We have no idea what goes on in any of these players lives. And maybe Kenin is cool with being in a domineering relationship cause she's successful. Andrea Jaegger's dad was a complete tyrant when she was on tour, she never said a bad word about him the entire time. Only many years later she admitted he was tough to deal with(locked her out of their flat the night before her Wimbledon final cause she ate ice cream or something)
 
As exciting as Swiatek has been to watch, I weirdly find myself rooting for Kenin here. Not sure why, maybe latent patriotism.
That’s only weird in the US. If Bertens had made the final the whole country would be rooting for her and no one would be ashamed to say it.
 
Odds are showing swiatek as slight favorite (-178). Surprised me. Maybe because she won in straight sets in their RG junior matchup? Kenin +150
 
Despite bookies showing slight advantage to Iga I think it's a 60/40 match with Kenin being the favourite. This is Iga's first slam final and I'm not sure how she'll handle it mentally. Also, she played a long doubles match today so exhaustion might become an issue too (?). Some will say she shouldn't have entered both singles and doubles but who would have known she'd do so good in both... she's never been past R4 in a slam to date.

I'd love to see Iga winning cause I've been her fan since she was 14 (!). Always knew she has an incredible talent and one day will reach for greatness. Maybe that day will tomorrow? Hopefully so. But even if not she's just 19 and has such big game that more opportunities will surely arrive in the future.

Fun fact is that if Iga wins she'll become the first singles champion born in 21st century.

Come on, baby! Go and grab the title tomorrow!
 
I like Swiatek's game, but I'm rooting for Kenin. I'd like to see her to get another slam. I know Swiatek hasn't lost a set her entire run, which is impressive, and the only players to have taken the most games are Hseih and Bouchard, so Kenin would be an interesting match up for her since Kenin likes to mix angles/drop shots/ moonballs similar to Hseih and can hit with pace and angles similar to Bouchard. I'm guessing a close match going to 3 sets, with one them being a tiebreaker.
 
I been watching Kenin since she was playing since she was 17 or so. Let me tell u
she got a mouth on her make a sailor blush!

I picked her to win only because she so unlikely to win
 
He could just be super intense and their relationship just has that dynamic. Wasn't Sharapova's dad like that - thought I don't remember him being as bad.

Yuri Sharapov engaged constant coaching from the stands (and yes, he had been removed from some matches because of cheating), making noises to distract opponents, and saying foul things in his native tongue. He was corrupt trash.

Yeah, Kenin's dad seems somewhat "extra" but a level or two below Capriati, Pierce, Dokic

It is a wait and see situation, So far, he's not verbally abusing her like Pierce's father, or in the case of Dokic's "father," he's not abusing his daughter (slapping her in the face, beating her with belts, etc.) to the point she wants to commit suicide (yes, Dokic said she was moments away from jumping 30 stories to her death), or making death threats. Kenin's not letting on that there's something else going on, so again, its a wait and see situation.
 
Yuri Sharapov engaged constant coaching from the stands (and yes, he had been removed from some matches because of cheating), making noises to distract opponents, and saying foul things in his native tongue. He was corrupt trash.



It is a wait and see situation, So far, he's not verbally abusing her like Pierce's father, or in the case of Dokic's "father," he's not abusing his daughter (slapping her in the face, beating her with belts, etc.) to the point she wants to commit suicide (yes, Dokic said she was moments away from jumping 30 stories to her death), or making death threats. Kenin's not letting on that there's something else going on, so again, its a wait and see situation.

I forgot Yuri was THAT bad. Capriati's dad is often included among awful tennis parents, but was that more pushing her to much for the money, essentially pushing her to the breaking point rather than actual physical and/or mental abuse?
 
I forgot Yuri was THAT bad. Capriati's dad is often included among awful tennis parents, but was that more pushing her to much for the money, essentially pushing her to the breaking point rather than actual physical and/or mental abuse?

I do not believe Capriati's father physically abused her, but yes, he was using his daughter as his personal bank account, but even that does not compare to Dockic's father.
 
Gotta admit I haven't seen much - only heard (good things) of - Swiatek before this tournament. But boy can she play tennis and she's even an all-courter! She's got an excellent sense of the court and where to put her next ball. And so far, so calm and composed in this fairytale run.
@Keizer - kudos for spotting her early. As far as I can tell, she actually does hit most of her backhand volleys with 2 hands (as you questioned above).
 
Yuri Sharapov engaged constant coaching from the stands (and yes, he had been removed from some matches because of cheating), making noises to distract opponents, and saying foul things in his native tongue. He was corrupt trash.



It is a wait and see situation, So far, he's not verbally abusing her like Pierce's father, or in the case of Dokic's "father," he's not abusing his daughter (slapping her in the face, beating her with belts, etc.) to the point she wants to commit suicide (yes, Dokic said she was moments away from jumping 30 stories to her death), or making death threats. Kenin's not letting on that there's something else going on, so again, its a wait and see situation.

You make a very good point here - at this stage Alexander Kenin should not be considered abusive towards his daughter in the same way (for example) Damir Dokic was.

I do think he has started to behave in a way that still requires intervention, though. He needs policing in the way he is behaving towards opponents, opponent's coaches and also officials during his daughter's matches.

There are several times now where he has inserted himself into a distracting situation in matches and disturbed opposing coaches and players with his behaviour and attempts to engage tournament officials and the chair umpire.
 
I typically support the American ladies, but I’m not a big fan of Kenin. I can’t relate to her game or personality.

I also don’t know much about her opponent, but I will root for her today.
 
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