'I think she is as big a favourite this year.....' - Former Tennis star backs Iga Swiatek to win French Open 2024 title

Former tennis star Mats Wilander feels that the world number one Iga Swiatek is the strong favourite to win another French Open title, which is set to commence on Sunday, May 26, in Paris. Notably, the Polish player is the defending champion heading into Roland-Garros after claiming her third title in Paris the previous season. She has won three Roland Garros titles in the last four editions, giving him a very successful start in tennis history.

Undoubtedly, her wins at the Mutua Madrid Open and Italian Open in the past few weeks have done nothing to strengthen her spot as the clay-court queen.

Iga Swiatek already holds the title of "Queen of Clay due to her successes in her young career." Notably, the Poland-born star has won 77 out of her 87 surface matches, with three Grand Slam finals in Paris. She defeated world number two Aryna Sabalenka in Rome and Madrid, carrying home the title each time.

However, the 59-year-old believes that the 22-year-old star, who has already won four major titles, will continue to dominate Roland-Garros for many more seasons to come, just like legendary player Rafael Nadal has done with his 14 wins in the men's titles.

I think Iga is as big a favourite this year as Rafa has been over all these years: Wilander

“I think that with Iga Swiatek, I am more impressed the more I see her play. Some days, some matches, you can see that she has certain limitations, but it has to be conditions that are terrible for her, and there are very few tournaments that are completely terrible for her," Mats Wilander said.

"So I think that the confidence that she's growing, winning all these clay court tournaments and taking one, two, three steps away from Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina and all the other women that are behind, I think that's going to really help her on other surfaces. I think Iga is as big a favourite this year as Rafa has been over all these years. He's been the favourite and he's won 14. Iga I think is going to win at least seven or eight Roland-Garros if she stays healthy," he added further.