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It was the eighth win for Swiatek, from Poland,
in 11 meetings against her rival from Belarus. It also was the
ninth straight win in a singles final for Swiatek, who most
recently lost in a final round to Sabalenka at Madrid in 2023.
In Saturday's one hour, 29-minute match, Swiatek dominated the
service game, winning 74 percent of the points on her first
serve and 62 percent on her second serve -- and fending off all
seven break points.
Sabalenka won just 56 percent of her first service points, 41 on
her second serve and was broken four times.
The win gave Swiatek her 21st career WTA title, and fourth in
2024. Among those victories was a defeat of Sabalenka at the
Mutua Madrid Open two weeks ago as Swiatek readies her
clay-court game for the French Open, where she is the defending
champion and a three-time winner (2020, 2022 and 2023). She also
has won three times in Doha (2022, 2023 and 2024).
The two have developed a friendly rivalry and traded
pleasantries during the trophy presentation.
Sabalenka said she has her eyes on a rematch in Paris.
"This time I'm not gonna forget. I'm gonna start with Iga,"
Sabalenka said. "Congrats on an incredible couple weeks. I hope
we're gonna make it to the final of Roland Garros and I'm gonna
get you there. Just kidding. At least I'll try to do better than
today."
Swiatek responded.
"Aryna, another final, another great battle. I knew it wouldn't
be easy," she said. "Thanks for sharing the court with me and
really pushing me to be better. We'll see about that Roland
Garros final."
Swiatek, 22, also joins Dinara Safina (2009) and Serena Williams
(2013) as the only players to with the tournaments in Madrid and
Rome in the same season.
--Field Level Media [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
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