Iga Świątek wins nailbiting Madrid Open Final
In a rematch of last year's final, Świątek saves three match points to take home her first Madrid Open title.
ZURICH, Switzerland, May 6, 2024 - On athlete Iga Świątek celebrated her first clay court title of the season, saving three match points to beat world number two Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) to take home the title in Madrid.
On her way to the final, Świątek eased past her first opponents X. Wang (CHN), S. Cirstea (ROU), and S. Sorribes Tomo (ESP), before having to come back from one set down in the quarter-final against B. Haddad Maia (BRA). She then sailed past M. Keys (USA) in the semi-final to reach her second consecutive Madrid Open final and a rematch with Sabalenka.
The Madrid Open Final marked the 10th career meeting between Świątek and Sabalenka, with the Polish world number one having the upper hand, having previously won 6 of those matchups. It was the third clay-court showdown between the two players, with only Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert facing each other more frequently on clay as the world’s top two players.
The final proved to be a nail-biting face-off between the world number one and two, with neither player wanting to give the other an edge. The first set featured quality tennis, with the first games going with the serve before Świątek managed to break Sabalenka and captured the first set 7-5. Sabalenka opened the second set with a break, after which Świątek managed to gather herself and break back. However, with Sabalenka’s solid and aggressive playing style, the Polish world number one had to give the second set to the world number two.
In the third and deciding set, Świątek fell back early but managed to bring her game back to the court and take the set to a decisive tie-break. There was little to separate the two in the tie-break as the points were distributed evenly between the players. Sabalenka broke away, taking the score to 4-3 but couldn’t quite make the lead last. Świątek then earned her first championship point taking the score to 6-5, but the hope of lifting the trophy was cut short by an ace of Sabalenka. It was the Belarusian who then had the chance to take home the title at 6-7 but a forehand winner by Świątek put the ball back in the On athlete's court, who sealed the deal, converting her second championship point and taking home her first Madrid Open Title with a final score of 7-5, 4-6, 7-6.
Following the win, Świątek said: "This was one of the craziest finals I've played in my life. I never won such a tight match at the end of a tournament. It makes me super proud I was able to stick to what I wanted to do. I didn’t lose my focus, and I think in the third set I was playing the best tennis, so it was pretty crazy. I needed to fight over the stress, and I was tight in the beginning.”
The Madrid final lasted three hours and 11 minutes and is the longest final on the WTA tour this year so far. With her victory, Świątek secured her third title of the 2024 season and her 20th career title, becoming the youngest player to reach 20 titles since Caroline Wozniacki in 2012.
Świątek now has her eyes set on the Rome title, which she previously won in 2021 and 2022.
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