© Iga Swiatek/ X
Iga Swiatek needed to win the WTA Finals on Monday to regain her place as the world’s highest-ranked woman in singles. And so, she did, without much problems, defeating Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-0 in the finale, within a minute still left on the clock to strike an hour.
Entering the final, Swiatek and Pegula were the only two contestants who’d not dropped a match in the round-robin stage and as such were on a four-match win streak. When play began, Swiatek made it clear that she would be the one whose streak of wins wouldn’t come to an end in Mexico.
Pegula hadn’t lost a set in her four previous matches but against Swiatek, despite her best efforts, she couldn’t muster an adequate response. In the first set, Swiatek won 12 of 13 points played on her first serve while winning five of 10 points on return on the American’s first serve.
The Pole won four of seven second-serve points and four of six points on return on her opponent’s second serve in the set. In the second set, the 22-year-old won more second-serve points than her first serve even as she left Pegula hobbling to win points across, both her first and second serves.
Swiatek won five of seven points on…
