How Aryna Sabalenka conquered Madrid and 'amazing' rival Swiatek
When they clashed in Stuttgart two weeks ago, Iga Swiatek (21) showed that she is tough to beat on clay. For Sabalenka, however, it was a challenge.
She outwardly hinted that she would like to smash the winner's Porsche, but in her head she was already plotting her revenge. It came in Madrid, at a tournament whose format is in many ways reminiscent of a Grand Slam.
She dominated the event, which stretched over almost two weeks, with a performance full of winning shots.
The numbers from the three-set final battle with Swiatek are a testament to her game. The current world number two won 32:17 on winners, but she also made more unforced errors (38:20). But the important thing was that she wanted to direct the match herself and not wait for her opponent's mistake.
"I'm super happy. Especially against Iza on clay, the victory is extraordinary. I believe that this is not the last time we will play a final together. It's great when the first and the second ranked player meet in the final," Sabalenka highlighted. The clash of the two best ranked tennis players in the battle for the tournament laurel has been exceptional in recent years. Between 2016 and 2022, it occurred only twice.
Key moments
Sabalenka played a total of six matches in Madrid over nine days with a 12-2 record in sets. She had to prove herself several times in the process, having to turn the matches around especially in the last three matches - quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
Sabalenka - Sharif 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
It should have been a seemingly clear duel, but the Egyptian Mayar Sherif (27), playing in excellent form, won the first set convincingly and led twice in the second set by a break.
But Sabalenka overcame difficult moments, broke her opponent's serve five times in a row, won 10 consecutive games and reached the semi-finals.
She played very well, leading 3-0. But then she was caught in a crisis, Maria Sakkari (27) tied it at 3-3 and was not far from turning the match around. The most important points were played in the sixth and seventh games of the second set, when first Sabalenka missed four break points, only to win twice on her own serve.
This gave her confidence, she used the first set point on her opponent's serve at 5-4 and took the second set for herself with 10 straight games.
Sabalenka - Swiatek 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
From the first exchanges it was obvious that Sabalenka wanted to avenge her recent loss from Stuttgart. She took the first set and although the world number one levelled in the second set, the Belarusian was the more aggressive player.
In the third set, she was not broken and she soon created another opportunity to break Swiatek and wanted to end the match quickly. She made two errors, but hit the winner on the fourth match point.
Important numbers
One
For the first time, Sabalenka defeated Swiatek on clay. It was on her fourth attempt and she didn't even win a set until the Madrid final. It was also her first win over Swiatek outside of the Champions Tournament. For the first time, Sabalenka also managed to win one tournament twice. She also celebrated in Madrid in 2021, beating Ashleigh Barty 2-1 in sets.
26
In June 2018 at Eastbourne, Sabalenka managed to beat an opponent from the top 10 for the first time. Since then, she has racked up a total of 26 such victories, making her the record holder among active players on the circuit. Second is Swiatek (24) and third is Sakkari (23).
60%
The road to her 13th career title has not been easy for Sabalenka. There were several crisis moments she had to deal with during the tournament. What she excelled at, however, were the key balls when fending off break points. Overall, she was successful in 21 out of 35. In her first match against Sorana Cirstea (33), she could have gone further thanks to six broken break points out of eight. In the semi-final with Sakkari, she was five out of six.
Pizza? Hooray for Rome!
Clearly, Sabalenka is playing at her best at the moment. Her well-being in Madrid was enhanced by her 25th birthday celebrations, which came on a free day between the semi-finals and the final. The Minsk native was helped by the tournament organisers to throw a party, and she made sure to thank them for it. "I think I won thanks to the cake yesterday, it was very good!" she laughed during the closing ceremony.
The celebration after the tournament triumph was more in the Italian mode. "We had pizza, pasta and all that Italian food. I'm already thinking about Rome," she laughed.
She will continue to hunt down Swiatek's throne at the next ATP 1000 event in the Italian capital. Although she can't unseat her from the top of the leaderboard yet, she is 'only' 1,744 points.