Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka beat Iga Swiatek 6-3 3-6 6-3 to win the Madrid Open on Saturday.
The win helped to avenge her defeat by the Polish world number one in last month’s Stuttgart final.
Madrid Open 2023 Champion Sabalenka
Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka beat Iga Swiatek 6-3 3-6 6-3 to win the Madrid Open on Saturday.
The win helped to avenge her defeat by the Polish world number one in last month’s Stuttgart final.
Sabalenka produced a great performance to beat Swiatek for the first time on clay.
It did also help to prove that she will be a serious title contender when the French Open begins later this month.
The 25-year-old Sabalenka made things rather uncomfortable for Swiatek from the outset with her aggressive tactics.
She broke the two-time Roland Garros champion’s serve in the eighth game en route to bagging the first set.
Swiatek fought back in the second as she raced into a 3-0 lead before levelling the contest at one set all.
However, Australian Open champion Sabalenka dug in to show that she was no pushover as she opened up a 3-0 lead in the decider.
Swiatek kept everyone on the edge of their seats as she made it 3-3 in a thrilling third set.
Sabalenka then went on to break Swiatek’s serve with a brilliant cross-court forehand before wrapping up the win on her fourth match-point. (Reuters/NAN)
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