Swiatek v Jabeur – a fitting US Open final between the two best players of 2022
With 100 wins and eight titles between them in 2022, the cream has risen to the top at Flushing Meadows
Ons Jabeur and Iga Swiatek Wimbledon 2021 | © Zuma / Panoramic
After the drama of Serena Williams‘ farewell (if it does indeed prove to be her last match), it seems entirely fitting that the women’s final at the US Open should be between the two outstanding players of 2022.
World No 1 Iga Swiatek, who won her second Grand Slam title at the French Open in June, will take on Ons Jabeur, the Tunisian trail-blazer who reached the Wimbledon final in July, for the title.
When Ash Barty announced her shock retirement from tennis in March, Swiatek was not sure if she was ready to take over the mantle of world No 1. But the 21-year-old has stepped up and holds a big lead at the top of the rankings, helped in no small part by her victory at Roland-Garros.
Jabeur, on the other hand, reached her first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, narrowly losing out to Elena Rybakina in the final and has gone from strength to strength, becoming the first woman to reach both the Wimbledon and US Open finals since Serena Williams in 2019.
100 wins on Tour, eight titles between them
Between them, the pair have won 100 matches on the WTA Tour this year. Swiatek, with 56-7 – including a 37-match winning streak midway through the year, has won more than anyone else, which is not surprising given that she’s world No1. Jabeur is not too far behind, with a 44-13 record.
Swiatek has won six titles in 2022, winning them consecutively, starting in Doha, then taking the title in Indian Wells and Miami, before winning Stuttgart, Rome and finally, Roland-Garros, for the second time in three years.
Jabeur has two titles to her name in 2022, taking her overall tally to three, having won in Madrid and Berlin on clay, and losing in the final in Stuttgart, in Rome (to Swiatek) and then at Wimbledon.
In terms of their routes to the final, Jabeur has a slight edge. She dropped one set, against Shelby Rogers in round three, to the two of Swiatek (to Jule Niemeier in round four and Aryna Sabalenka in the semis). And Jabeur’s spent less time on court; 9 hours and one minute to the 10 hours, 47 minutes of Swiatek.
Head to head: Tied 2-2
This will be their fifth meeting on Tour and again, there’s nothing to choose between them, tied 2-2.
Swiatek won the most recent battle, in the Rome final, but on hard courts, it’s 1-1; Swiatek winning in Washington in 2019 and Jabeur taking the honours in Cincinnati last year. Jabeur’s other win came at Wimbledon in 2021. Both know each other’s games well; both know it’s going to be tough.
“She has different game style than most of the players,” Swiatek said. “She has a great touch. All these things mixed up, she’s just a tough opponent. That’s why probably our matches are always kind of physical and really tight, even though the scores may (not) be. She’s just a tough opponent and fully deserves to be in the final. I think it’s going to be a great battle.”
Iga never loses in finals, so it’s going to be tough
Ons Jabeur
Swiatek is 9-1 in finals but Jabeur fancies her chances
“Iga never loses finals, so it’s going to be very tough,” she said. “I know she (said she) struggled a little bit with the balls here, but I don’t see her struggling much, to be honest with you. She’s playing awesome. It’s going to be tough match. Definitely going for my revenge.
“I love playing on this surface, and I feel like I know exactly what to do against her.”
They’ll be No 1 and No 2 respectively after the US Open
Regardless what happens in Saturday’s final, Swiatek and Jabeur will be ranked No 1 and No 2 when the list is updated on Monday.
Swiatek has a massive lead at the top (it will be more than 5,000 points if she wins) while Jabeur will return to No 2 as she continues to inspire Tunisian, African and Arab tennis players with her exploits.
With these two at the top, we could be seeing the start of a famous rivalry.
“I think we are just trying to manage and learn how to be more and more consistent,” Jabeur said. “It’s tough to play a lot of tournaments. I feel like the difference between men and women is like before, they had Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal (who dominated). I think maybe now we are going to see more players coming up.
“Before, we just had Serena, you know. Serena cannot play all the tournaments, and she was pretty consistent. That really inspired a lot of players. Yeah, definitely it is better for us to be consistent and do great results. We are trying to do that. Iga did inspire us with her winning streak, and we are going to continue fighting.”
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