World No 1 Iga Swiatek survived 3 match points and a 3-hour marathon to dethrone defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and lift her first Mutua Madrid Open trophy on Sunday in an epic final that was concluded in a thrilling match tiebreak, 7-5 4-6 7-6(7).
At the end, I don’t know what made a difference. I think we both, kind of, deserved to win today. I think it was only about these little points in the tiebreaker. Iga Świątek
“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.”
It was a gripping and gruelling contest, the 10th between them, and a repeat of last year’s championship clash at the WTA 1000 clay court tournament, which Sabalenka won, also in 3 tight sets.
Swiatek, though, was determined to add Madrid to her portfolio, the only European clay court title to have eluded her so far, and in so doing, the 22-year old Pole denied the Belarusian an historic 3rd title in the Spanish capital.
The match was the first contest of the season between the top two in the WTA rankings, and it lived up to expectations, going down as the longest encounter between the two Grand Slam champions at 3 hours and 11 minutes.
The win took Swiatek’s record over Sabalenka to 7-3, as the 3-times French Open champion bagged the only major clay-court title missing on her glittering resume.
“Aryna, to many more finals! It’s always a challenge playing you,” Swiatek said at the trophy presentation. “Thanks for always motivating me, and forcing me to be a better player.”
It is Swiatek’s 3rd title win for the season after having lifted the trophies at the Qatar Open and the Indian Wells Open. Aryna Sabalenka was going for a 3rd Madrid title and held 3 championships points but was pipped at the post by Iga Swiatek in the final
Swiatek and Sabalenka fared equally well on Saturday, as the two broke each other 5 times during the match, with the Pole maintaining a 67% conversion rate on her first serve, whereas Sabalenka finished with 68%.
They played a total of 237 points, out of which, Swiatek won just 5 more than Sabalenka, 116.
