Iga Swiatek exacts revenge on Aryna Sabalenka in Madrid Open final rematch, saves 3 championship points to win maiden title at tournament
Iga Swiatek won her maiden title at the Madrid Open on Sunday, downing defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in the final in three sets.
Playing in their 10th clash on the WTA Tour, the top 2 in the world matched each other shot for shot in the opening set. No breaks of serve came about in the first 10 games, following which Swiatek drew first blood by breaking the Belarusian's serve. From there, she served out the set to take the lead in the summit clash.
In the second set, though, Aryna Sabalenka started as the aggressor, securing an early break on the Pole's serve to go 2-0 up. Swiatek responded by breaking back, restoring parity at 3-3. At 5-4, with the World No. 1 serving to stay in the set, Sabalenka earned a decisive break, taking the set and forcing a decider.
The third set began in identical fashion, with the World No. 2 breaking early to take the lead and Swiatek retrieving the break to restore parity at 3-3. This time, both held their serves to take it to the tiebreaker.
Sabalenka had a mini-break in the tiebreaker at 4-2, but Iga Swiatek pulled things back to even the scores. At 8-7 and the World No. 2 serving to stay in the match, Swiatek pocketed the match, having saved three championship points along the way, winning 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(7) after three hours and 12 minutes.
The win on Saturday means Swiatek has had her revenge on Sabalenka after her final loss at the Madrid Open last year, where the Belarusian won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to win her second title at the WTA 1000 event.
Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka will be in action next at the 2024 Italian Open next week
Following their clash in the final of the Madrid Open, Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka will travel to Rome for the 2024 Italian Open, their final stop before the French Open.
At last year's tournament, Swiatek reached the quarterfinals before falling to eventual champion Elena Rybakina. Sabalenka, meanwhile, fell in the second round to former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin.
They will be joined by the likes of Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Ons Jabeur and Beatriz Haddad Maia in Rome. At the French Open, Swiatek is the two-time defending champion, while Sabalenka reached the semifinals in 2023 before falling to eventual runner-up Karolina Muchova.
Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek continues to maintain a healthy lead over the Belarusian in the WTA rankings. The Pole has over 10,500 ranking points, while Sabalenka is a little short of 8,000 ranking points.
Gauff trails behind them with a little under 7,500 points, followed by Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula at No. 4 and No. 5 respectively. Gauff had a shot at becoming World No. 2 this week had Sabalenka faltered before the final. Biut the reigning two-time Australian Open champion denied a new career-high to the World No. 3 with her run in Madrid.