World number one Iga Swiatek won her fourth consecutive tournament on clay in Stuttgart on Sunday, in a royal final which pitted her against number 4 Aryna Sabalenka (6-2, 6-2)
The 20-year-old Polish remains on 23 consecutive victories in all competitions (including the Fed Cup), after her triumphs this year in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami, and is now a big favorite for the Grand Slam tournament at Roland-Garros. (May 22/June 5). “It was a difficult match, we fought on every pointdeclared the winner, congratulating her opponent. “The atmosphere was fantastic, she congratulated herself, I understand now why it is said that Stuttgart is one of the best tournaments of the year. And it’s important for us after so many months without an audienceduring the pandemic.
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Swiatek broke from his opponent’s first service game, and then never released his grip. At the start of the second round, Sabalenka offered superb resistance, however, and the show then reached new heights. The sixth game of the second set was decisive. Trailing 3-2, the serving Belarus had several equalizers at 3-3, but after a fierce battle Swiatek broke them to lead 4-2. The world number one then unrolled, to win on her third match point. Saturday in the semi-final, Swiatek had let the Russian Liudmila Samsonova believe in it until the end, and had to fight more than three hours to win, mentally, 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7 -5.
In the final, she didn’t make the same mistake and didn’t let Sabalenka lead once. The 23-year-old Belarusian was playing her second consecutive final in Stuttgart. She had already lost last year, against Ashleigh Barty.