Sabalenka triumphs against Swiatek and wins for the second time in Madrid

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, second in the tennis world ranking, rebelled against the statistics and defeated the number one, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, 6-3, 3-6 and 6-3, a victory that gave her her second title in the Magic Box, after that of 2021.

It was a maximum-intensity final, lasting up to two hours and 25 minutes in which, like two years ago, Sabalenka took victory after beating the circuit’s leader. Then it was Australia’s Ashleigh Barty and now the player from Warsaw, who acted more defensively in her first final in Madrid, at the pace of her rival, and when she wanted to react she was already behind.

It is Sabalenka’s thirteenth career title and third of the season, following her wins in Adelaide and the Australian Open.

The only two the Belarusian has signed ashore are Madrid’s.

After being defeated by Swiatek in the final in Stuttgart (Germany) two weeks ago, Sabalenka kept her promise not to rush her shots in this new final and wait for the right moment to take every point.

Except in the first, in the other games that served out the first set, the Belarusian only allowed Swiatek to score three runs. With the strength of her remains, she had two break opportunities in the sixth game, which the Pole saved, but she managed to make the break for 5-3 and exit the set decisively.

Swiatek started the second set with renewed aggressiveness towards the rest, leading 3-0. He minimized his mistakes and gave everything back.

With 3-1 and the Polish serve, the two finalists offered a game of height, typical of the two best in the world, one trying to recover the lost serve, the other clinging to the field to keep his advantage. After four break points, Sabalenka finally brought the set back into balance.

But in a new lapse of time, the Belarusian gave up her serve again (5-3) and Swiatek tied the game.

Having lost only one set on their way to the final, the two protagonists were faced with the need to manage a third set in the final, making the outcome even more uncertain.

The grenades that came from Sabalenka’s racket gave her a new 2-0 lead. In a moment of lively play, the Belarusian got the crowd going with three consecutive volleys that cleared the way for her to make it 3-0. Shaking his head, Swiatek walked to his seat and gestured helplessly to his team.

Swiatek had not said his last word: he made his next serve and broke Sabalenka’s to goal. The game lasted two hours and again started from scratch, although both players were more tired and certainly regretted the missed opportunities.

The two gave it their all and showed their best virtues in the following games, with hits in the right place, also with mistakes that came from risk, but always with victory in sight.

In the net, with her right hand, and with a cross to the line from the bottom of the court, Sabalenka delivered the final blow (5-3). Serving to win, the Pole still had the guts to save three match points, with an incredible kickback at her feet or down the hall before being beaten.

Sabalenka entered the twenty-third final of her career, the sixth on clay. She has more wins than any other player this year, 29 with Saturday’s, a day after her 25th birthday and on a course she described as perfect for her conditions.

In the final two weeks ago in Stuttgart, 21-year-old Swiatek won 6-3, 6-4.

Sabalenka has been the world number two since last January, when she won the Australian Open.

The two finalists had already met seven times before, with five wins for the Pole. On clay, Swiatek had won three out of three times without dropping a set. Sabalenka turned the statistics around in Madrid and took as a prize the 1,000 points distributed by the Madrid tournament and a financial prize of 1.1 million euros. The loser leaves with 650 points and 580,000 euros.