Sabalenka lifts trophy in Madrid, gets revenge on Swiatek

It’s already a cliche, but here’s a delightful rivalry at the top of the women’s game. This time around, it was Aryna Sabalenka, the second seed and world No 2, who beat Iga Swiatek to lift the trophy in Madrid – 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

In an enthralling tussle – with points that triggered mid-game standing ovations with the quality of the rallying – Sabalenka, who turned 25 on Friday, was the deserved winner.

“It’s always tough battles against each other – you always push me to the limit,” Sabalenka told her rival in the trophy ceremony. For her part, Swiatek agreed: “You always play such intense tennis – every match is a challenge!”

The world No 1 must have gone into the match with a degree of confidence. She had won all three of her previous matches on clay against Sabalenka in straight sets, while Sabalenka had never before won a straight-sets match against her; both her previous wins had been in three, and both in the WTA Finals.

And so it was here, serving her only two aces of the match in the last game to reclaim the championship she won back in 2021. This was the second successive final between these two – but the first WTA 1000 final between the top two in the world since 2014.

Swiatek had enjoyed a relatively straightforward win in Stuttgart less than a fortnight ago, 6-3, 6-4, and Sabalenka had made it very plain that she wanted revenge this time round.

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Both were seeking their third WTA title of the campaign, with Sabalenka having won Adelaide 1 and the Australian Open, and Swiatek defending the titles she won in Stuttgart and Doha in 2022.

Sabalenka’s serve was hugely effective from the off, and she made Swiatek doubt her own. The Belarusian faced no break points whatsoever in the first set, and made the first and vital break to give herself the chance to take it on her own racquet.

Swiatek’s thumbs-up

Swiatek took a break from court immediately afterwards, and began the second set at a much more intense rate. Sabalenka piled up the unforced errors and the world No 1 took a 2-0 lead with her first break point of the match, consolidating it on her serve.

But then it was Sabalenka’s turn to win three games in a row, breaking the Swiatek serve with a thunderous backhand into the corner, before the world No 1 got her nose in front again as she saved two break points to hold.

Then with her second break point of the match, Swiatek broke again, firing down the line into the corner, and then serving it out to force a decider.

Sabalenka again raised her level, saving two break points in the third game and moving to a 3-0 lead, but once more Swiatek clawed it back, capitalising on a double-fault to break to love, and levelling up at 3-3.

Sabalenka’s backhand returned to her arsenal as she changed her racquet and edged 4-3 ahead, much to Swiatek’s frustration, who was spotted giving what seemed to be a sarcastic grin and thumbs-up to her box.

But the world No 1 is a great champion in her own right for a reason, saving three match points before Sabalenka finally sealed the triumph.

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