MADRID -- World No.1 Iga Swiatek won her first Mutua Madrid Open title, saving three championship points to defeat No.2 and reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7). The match, the season's longest Hologic WTA Tour final, lasted 3 hours and 11 minutes.
The Madrid title marks the 20th career victory for 22-year-old Swiatek and her third of the season. She is the youngest player to reach 20 titles since Caroline Wozniacki in 2012.
A three-time champion at Roland Garros, Swiatek has now won both WTA 1000s on clay. She is also a two-time champion at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia.
"For sure when I look back in maybe a few years, it will mean a lot," Swiatek said. "But for now, I'm just happy that I won this tournament anyway. Doesn't matter for me if I won it before or not. I try to win each tournament that I play.
Dating back to her loss to Sabalenka in Madrid last year, Swiatek has now won her past seven finals. She is tied with No.4 Elena Rybakina for the season lead in titles (3) and match-wins (30). Her win Saturday, which netted her a ninth WTA 1000 title, improved her record against Sabalenka to 7-3.
The final marked the third clay-court showdown between Swiatek and Sabalenka. Over the past 40 years, only Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert have faced each other more frequently on clay as the world's top two players.
In the 10th meeting between the two and first of the season, Swiatek and Sabalenka locked horns through a high-quality hourlong opening set. Despite the swirling breeze on Manolo Santana Stadium, Sabalenka found consistent depth and width to mute Swiatek's aggressive tendencies.
After an exchange of breaks to open the match, the duo exchanged eight holds of serve before Sabalenka buckled. Serving at 5-5, she played her loosest game of the set to allow Swiatek to break. The World No.1 dug deep to hold from 0-30 down and take the set.
Sabalenka came into the final battle-tested after coming through four tough three-set wins over the fortnight. She quickly put the disappointment of the first set behind her by breaking Swiatek immediately to lead 2-0.
After a first set that was dominated by the server, the second set was defined by the returner. Swiatek responded to every break of her own serve with a break of Sabalenka's until she finally held serve to even the set at 3-3. But serving down 5-4, Swiatek struck an ill-timed double fault at 30-15 and Sabalenka took her chance. With two clean winners from each wing, the two-time Madrid champion broke to take the match to a third set.
Sabalenka broke through first in the decider, breaking Swiatek with a forehand winner to lead 3-1. Swiatek answered immediately, breaking at 15 by increasing the intensity and pace of her baseline hitting. After Sabalenka wiped out an opening for Swiatek to break at 4-4, 0-30, Swiatek responded with her most decisive hold of the match to level at 5-5.
Serving to take the match to a deciding tiebreak, Swiatek saved two championship points to hold. Sabalenka drifted a forehand just wide on her first opportunity, while Swiatek wiped away the second with a clean one-two punch.
"I think it was more about who's going to be less stressed and who's going to be able to play with more freedom," Swiatek said. "I think actually for most of the match, I felt like some decisions [from her] were pretty courageous. I was sometimes a little bit back.
"So at the end, I just wanted to not do that and to also be courageous."
As the match crossed the three-hour mark in the tiebreak, Swiatek and Sablenka changed sides with little separating them at 3-3. Sabalenka earned the first mini-break after following in a heavy forehand drive with a clean overhead to lead 4-3 but couldn't control her response to a deep Swiatek return on the next point.
Swiatek earned her first championship point at 6-5 after Sabalenka pushed a forehand long. Sabalenka wiped it out with her fourth ace of the match.
Sabalenka earned a third match point at 7-6 but the backhand that had been so devastating throughout the match once again missed, this time long. Another error handed Swiatek her second championship point, which she converted when Sabalenka sent another backhand long, sending Swiatek to drop to the ground in celebration.
"At the end, I don't know what made a difference," Swiatek said. "I think we both kind of deserved to win today. I think it was only about these little points in the tiebreaker."
What can I say about this match?. Iga Swiatek just writes her own history in this sport. A 3 hour 11 minute battle for your first ever title in Madrid.
Thus completing your clay court collection at just 22 years of age.
It's astounding.
For the first time in a long time I went into an Iga match without too many expectations because I knew it wasn't going to be easy and that Madrid clay really suits Aryna's style of game.
I think on a subconscious level I didn't give Iga much of a chance ( I know shocking!). I have never been more happy to be proven so wrong.
In my last post I mentioned how happy I was with how she handled Keys in the semis, not trying to overpower the big hitter but instead patiently working the points and that I was hoping for more of the same with Sabalenka.
That is exactly what Iga did here, and one additional thing I was hoping for, she used her superior athleticism to defend like her life depended on it.
Something that doesn't happen when she tries to out muscle the power players. That usually ends with Iga over hitting and a bunch of errors resulting from panic.
Today there was none of that, no panic, no frustration, just absolute laser focus no matter what was going on in the match.
Even when she lost the 2nd set by getting broken she just stayed in her tunnel vision and continued with great deep returns, despite also getting broken early in the 3rd she just stayed calm and kept going for it.
The tiebreak was almost otherworldly. Pretty sure my blood pressure went up more than once!. Iga just decided to risk more in the key moments of the breaker and it payed off big time.
A lot of social media people mentioned they thought Iga's new serve motion was finally clicking and it's hard not to agree. She lost very few points on her first serve under pressure.
Most of the points Aryna won with either an outright winner or a forced error.
But I'll also say that as much talk as there is of Iga's first serve there's not enough talk regarding her 2nd.
It really does hold up well under pressure (more then most players on tour in my opinion). All about where she places it.
Honestly though both players deserve huge credit because they showed a fantastic level throughout. And it takes 2 to make a match great.
A lot of people online have a tendency to complain that women's tennis is boring in comparison to the men. But today Iga and Aryna once again proved that it is the exact opposite.
There's no better advertisement for women's tennis than this match.
And I couldn't be prouder,
Now when I hear people complaining on social media about the WTA being weak, boring etc. I can point to this as an example of just how wrong that statement is.
I have to say I was so impressed with Iga's mental strength this match as well. She was serving second and was often behind in 2 out of the 3 sets but just kept fighting to stay even on serve.
I said a few days before that if last year's final in Madrid was half as good we'd be in for a treat. And boy, were we ever treated!.
This match will surely be a contender for match of the year, if not THE match of the season. It's certainly one Iga fans and tennis fans won't soon forget.
So thank you Iga and Aryna for once again showing the world what women's tennis is all about.
And also for single handedly saving an otherwise mediocre tournament for the 2nd year in a row.
Hope you both get some well deserved rest.
Although the tennis carousel never stops spinning so both are off to Rome tomorrow already.
I hope Iga at least gets a huge chunk of some genuine Italian Tiramisu when they get there tomorrow.
Onward to Rome, Jazda!
There are so many historic stats I don't even know where to start!.
But I think I'll go with:
20th WTA career title equaling countrywoman Aga Radwanska (who ended her career at 28 Iga is 22)
First player man or woman born in the 2000s to win 20 titles
3rd title in 20247 - Iga Swiatek is the first player to win 7+ consecutive WTA level finals since … Iga Swiatek (10, between Roland Garros 2020 and the US Open 2022). Lionhearted.
44.4% - Only Chris Evert, Margaret Court and Steffi Graf have a highest ratio of tournament’s victories in WTA clay court events in the Open Era than Iga Swiatek (44.4%, 8/18) - min. 10 appearances. Incredible.
8 - At 22 years and 338 days old, Iga Swiatek has become the youngest player to secure eight WTA clay court titles since Arantxa Sanchez Vicario when she won Amelia Island in 1994 at 22 years and 114 days ¡Felicidades!
9 - Since the format’s introduction in 2009, only Serena Williams (13) and Victoria Azarenka (10) have more WTA-1000 titles than Iga Swiatek (nine, equalling Simona Halep and Petra Kvitova). Climbing.
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