Iga Swiatek won an unforgettable final in Madrid and established himself as number 1

The Pole beat fellow Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 7-5, 4-6 and 7-6 (7) after more than three hours to decide the Masters 1000 champion.

Iga Swiatek had a second chance at Madrid Masters 1000 and the Polish player took advantage of it: in a repeat of last year’s final, he changed the direction of the result and defeated the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka by 7-5, 4-6 and 7-6 (7), in a stellar match between two of the best players on the circuit.

For both of them, this was the longest match of their two weeks at the Caja Mágica: three hours and eleven minutes of sweat per point, with the highest physical demands. They came out strong at the end and the result was decided in the third set tiebreaker. Until then, nothing seems certain.

Swiatek thus won the twentieth title of his career, at the age of 22, and the third this year, after Doha and Indian Wells. The new crown comes as he celebrates his 101st week at the top of the world rankings.

The player from Warsaw can now cross out his only major pending clay tournaments, as only Madrid is missing from the list that already includes two trophies in Rome, two in Stuttgart and three in Roland Garros.

In the tenth meeting between the two, Swiatek and Sabalenka still managed to surprise each other. The Pole resisted the power of his rival and was able to talk him through the exchanges and predict where he would take the line.

Swiatek won, but the opposite could have happened. The differences between the two are minimal. Two great players who fought to the limit and deserve to share the glory. Swiatek cried tears of joy over the wonderful occasion and said that for his success he was inspired by Rafael Nadal’s unforgettable conquest of the 2022 Australian Open where the Spaniard overcame a two-set deficit to celebrate 2-6, 6 -7(5), 6-4, 6-4 and 7-5.