In Short
- Aryna Sabalenka defeated Iga Swiatek 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the final
- Sabalenka won his maiden WTA title after winning the Australian Open
- Sabalenka won his 13th title on the WTA tour
By Sabyasachi ChowdhuryAryna Sabalenka, on Saturday, May 7, defeated World No.1 Iga Swiatek to win the women’s singles title in the Madrid Open. Last month, Swiatek defeated Sabalenka 3-6, 4-6 in the final of the Stuttgart Open. But this time around, Sabalenka returned the favour by winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 at Manolo Santana.
It also happened to be Sabalenka’s first title win on the WTA tour after she won the Australian Open earlier this year by beating Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in a three-setter at Rod Laver Arena. She had a chance to win the Indian Wells Masters, but lost to Rybakina.
Before the final on Saturday, the odds were heavily stacked against Sabalenka. The Belarusian had won only two out of seven matches against the Polish star. Moreover, she had never taken a set off from Swiatek in their previous three meetings on the clay court.
In the first set, Sabalenka earned a crucial break of serve to edge Swiatek out. Sabalenka broke her opponent’s serve once in the second set, but Swiatek was equal to the task, earning two breaks to take the match into the decider.
In the third and final set, Swiatek broke Sabalenka’s serve once, but the latter returned with two service breaks. The thriller lasted for two hours and 26 minutes.
Two years ago, Sabalenka defeated former Australian World No.1 Ash Barty to win the Madrid Open. Even this time around, she beat a top-ranked player and that should keep her in good stead ahead of the French Open at Roland Garros. Sabalenka also racked up her 13th WTA title and notched her 29th victory this season.
Rodolfo Frami
Kole Prosacco
Trace Hane