Aryna Sabalenka continues her superb 2023 season. Titled at the Australian Open in January, her first Grand Slam title, finalist in Indian Wells and Stuttgart, the 25-year-old Belarusian won the WTA 1000 in Madrid this Saturday by dominating in final the world n°1 Iga Swiatek (6-3, 3-6, 6-3).
Still dominated by Swiatek on clay (three defeats, in Stuttgart and Rome in 2022, in Stuttgart in 2023) without having scored a single set, Sabalenka took matters into her own hands when entering the Caja Magica. Of course, the phenomenally powerful Belarusian made mistakes, sometimes gross, but, with the exception of a delicate first engagement (only 50% of first serves and two deuces), she very easily won her face-offs. (three points lost on his other four engagements of the set) and put a lot of pressure on his opponent on the return.
Sabalenka makes her phenomenal power speak
Not helped by her percentage of firsts (52% over the whole round), the Pole suffered the devastating accelerations of the 25-year-old player. If she dismissed the first two break points at 3-2, then a third at 4-3, she finally gave in on the next one, betrayed, for once, by her backhand.
When pocketing her first set on ocher against the world No. 1, at 5-3, Sabalenka, who made the points (12 winning moves) and the faults (13 unforced errors), did not tremble: a service winner, an ace and yet another lethal cross backhand closed the deal.
Limited to five winning shots in the first set, Swiatek reacted like a boss as soon as she returned to the court, after a quick trip to the locker room. An excellent return then a winning cross forehand gave him his first break point of the game at the start of the second half, before Sabalenka landed a “baduf” forehand.
3-0 in about ten minutes, before the Sabalenka show: winning shots in spades, like this long line backhand to unbreak at 3-1, and strikes of rare violence, to make you collapse Swiatek, sometimes pushed back several meters from the ball despite her exceptional qualities of movement and defense.
We then thought that the winner of the Australian Open in January was going to bend the case in two short sets as she mistreated her opponent. At 3-3, she got two break points that looked like match points. Swiatek saved the former from a backhand winner before cleverly building up her point by running the large carcass of the Belarusian, forced to attempt (and miss) a desperate passing.
Swiatek saves three match points
Close to cashing the fatal blow, the Polish suddenly raised her quality of return. First to push Sabalenka to the fault then to carry the thrust, a superb return of winning forehand on break point. In the process, she equalized with one set everywhere.
Very high during a particularly intense second set, the level fell slightly thereafter. Each in turn, Swiatek and Sabalenka committed a few faults which offered break and unbreak to their opponent. The Belarusian quickly led 3-0, but she completely redacted her commitment to 3-1, messed up in less than two minutes on four unforced errors: two backhand, one forehand and a double fault.
At 4-3 in his favor, Sabalenka accelerated again: two forehand winners gave him the break and the possibility of serving for the title. As a great champion, Swiatek hung on. She got a break point and even saved three match points, the last of an exceptional winning backhand return. But the Belarusian did not release her prey and concluded with yet another forehand winner.