It was a repeat of their finale in Stuttgart a couple of weeks ago but the Mutua Madrid Open final saw a different result than the one in the German city. Aryna Sabalenka, who lost the Stuttgart final to Iga Swiatek avenged her loss with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 victory after almost two hours and 30 minutes of play.
Sabalenka began the match by dictating the rhythm and pace of the shots. Swiatek’s defence couldn’t match up to her and the world no. 2 was able to take the opening set and the lead in the match over the world no.
1. Swiatek retaliated by securing an early break to lead 3-0 in the second set but was reined in by Sabalenka who brought parity to the score, for three-all. A second break of Sabalenka’s serve in the eighth game allowed Swiatek the chance to serve out the set and she did so, to push the match into the decider.
In the final set, it was Sabalenka’s turn to be pegged back after getting a 3-0 lead. And, as it had happened in the second set, the 25-year-old got a second break for herself in the eighth game before eventually serving the match out.
The second seed did need four match points as Swiatek squashed the first three to put up one last stand.
Mutua Madrid Open: Aryna Sabalenka turns tables on Iga Swiatek
Sabalenka won 63% of her first-serve points to…
