Iga Swiatek's 34-match winning streak: Comparing the World No. 1's unbeaten run with Serena Williams' in 2013

Iga Swiatek's already incredible season just got better, with the World No. 1 equalling Serena Williams' unbeaten run of 34 matches, set in 2013, with a victory in the semifinals of the 2022 French Open.

Swiatek won her 34th straight match overall and 15th successive on clay when she beat an in-form Daria Kasatkina in straight sets on Thursday.

The Polish superstar's win streak is now the joint second-best since 2000. A victory in the Roland Garros final on Saturday will take Swiatek to the top spot, equaling the 35-match unbeaten run of Venus Williams in 2000.

It is not often that a player matches one of Serena Williams' many impressive feats. Iga Swiatek, widely considered the best player on the WTA tour currently, has equalled Serena's tally in style, dominating most of her matches during this run.

On that note, here's a look at both players' winning streaks and their achievements along the way.

Iga Swiatek's 34-match unbeaten run

Iga Swiatek after winning the Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2022

Iga Swiatek's 34-match unbeaten run began at the Qatar Open back in late February 2022.

She won the title in Qatar before completing the Sunshine Double by winning Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back. She then won both her matches for Poland at the Billie Jean King Cup, before bagging the Stuttgart Open and the Italian Open trophies.

At the French Open, the Pole is chasing her sixth straight title on tour.

Swiatek dropped a set in her opening match against Viktorija Golubic at the Qatar Open, where her run kicked off. Since then, she has dropped just five more sets, all of them against players not ranked in the top 10.

The 21-year-old has beaten as many as eight top-10 opponents during this streak, all of them in straight sets.

Swiatek has confidently upped her game in matches against the toughest opponents. She has beaten players of the calibre of Aryna Sabalenka (thrice), Maria Sakkari (twice), Daria Kasatkina (twice), Ons Jabeur, Emma Raducanu, Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu, Victoria Azarenka, and Angelique Kerber, among others, during this period.

Since her run began, the 2020 French Open champion has won 15 sets with a 6-0 scoreline, 11 sets with a 6-1 scoreline, and 18 with a 6-2 scoreline.

Iga Swiatek has lost just three matches so far this season and currently has a 37-3 win-loss record.

Serena Williams' 34-match unbeaten run

2013 French Open - Day Fourteen

American tennis great Serena Williams set incredibly high standards with her run of 34 consecutive match wins back in 2013, which was the best win streak of her illustrious career.

Serena's streak began at the Miami Open, and extended all the way to the third round of the Wimbledon Championships in late June.

During that time, Williams won five titles - the Miami Open, Family Circle Cup in Charleston, the Madrid Open, the Italian Open, and finally the French Open. The younger of the Williams sisters also won two matches in the Fed Cup for the USA during this period.

Her streak came to an end in the fourth round of Wimbledon, at the hands of Sabine Lisicki.

Serena had a similar run to Swiatek in terms of sets dropped, losing just five sets across her 34 wins. She won 11 matches against top-10 opponents, dropping just two sets along the way.

The former World No. 1 notched up victories against the likes of Maria Sharapova (thrice), Sara Errani (twice), Venus Williams, Agnieszka Radawanska, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Jelena Jankovic, and Lucie Safarova, among others, during that period.

The three-time French Open champion swept the European claycourt season that year, winning all 23 matches she played on the surface.

The 23-time Major champion won 10 sets with a 6-0 scoreline and another 33 sets where she dropped a maximum of two games in each. She also became the then oldest woman to win the French Open.

Williams finished the 2013 season with 11 titles and a 78-4 win-loss record.

Comparing Iga Swiatek's win streak with Serena Williams'

Both players' 34-match winning streaks have a lot of similarities - in terms of sets won, quality of opponents played and defeated, and titles won. Both Iga Swiatek and Serena Williams also displayed incredible flair and jaw-dropping shot-making.

While Swiatek's run has been fairly distributed across both hardcourt and clay, Serena's run came mostly in claycourt tournaments. However, Serena's run included a Grand Slam title, which Swiatek has not managed as yet.

Former player and Tennis Channel analyst Pam Shriver also highlighted the same during a recent interview.

“I will tell you, in order to make a streak like this truly memorable, you have to win at least one major during the streak," Shriver said.

Having said that, the current World No. 1 has a chance to not only add a Grand Slam title to her trophy cabinet but also break a tie with Serena by winning her 35th consecutive match, when she takes on Coco Gauff in the 2022 French Open final.