Streaking Swiatek Captures Third Rome Title

Dancing behind the baseline, fierce front-runner Iga Swiatek streaked through the finish line.

In a clash of the world’s top two, Swiatek saved all seven break points she faced dusting Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-3 to capture her third Rome championship without surrendering a set—and hit her way into history.

“Another final, another great battle,” Swiatek said to Sabalenka afterward. “It can always go both ways. Thanks for sharing the court for me and really pushing me to get better. We’ll see about that Roland Garros final.”

World No. 1 Swiatek scored her 12th consecutive victory, winning her ninth straight final to capture her 21st career championship.

Ten of those 21 titles have come at WTA 1000 events as Swiatek has now won three different tournament titles—Roland Garros, Rome and Doha—three times.

The 22-year-old Pole is the third woman to sweep Madrid and Rome championships in succession. Swiatek joins Dinara Safina in 2009 and Serena Williams in 2013 in achieving the rare Rome-Madrid dirt double.

Three keys to Swiatek’s superior performance in today’s final:

Spin Master—Swiatek mixed spins masterfully and played with more net clearance on pivotal points.

Second serve to the body—Swiatek served only 54 percent, but won 16 of 26 second-serve points and saved all seven break points often stinging the second serve into the hip.

First-rate forehand—At critical stages, Swiatek won the forehand-to-forehand exchanges and frequently played her backhand down the line into the Belarusian’s forehand wing. Sabalenka committed 28 errors— 17 more than Swiatek—as she tried to red-line the forehand.

It all added up to Swiatek’s second straight finals win over Sabalenka as she beat the Belarusian for the eighth time in 11 meetings widening the gap between her and the rest of the pack.

“Congrats on an incredible couple of weeks here in Rome, great stuff, great tennis,” Sabalenka told Swiatek during the trophy presentation. “I hope we’re gonna make it to the finals at Roland Garros and I’m gonna get you there.

“Just kidding—just trying to do better than today.”

This final was a rematch of the Mutua Madrid Open final.

Two weeks ago, Swiatek saved three championship points dethroning defending champion Sabalenka 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7) in a pulsating three hour, 11-minute Mutua Madrid Open final that will go down as a clay classic.

Riding a streak of eight straight finals wins, Swiatek came out attacking the Sabalenka forehand.

While you have to credit Sabalenka for attacking her shots and try to shorten rallies, she just wasn’t as sharp today as she was two weeks ago. Additionally, the higher altitude of Madrid added some hop to Sabalenka’s baseline blasts whereas Rome’s red clay is slower creating tougher terrain for the Belarusian to blast through against the speedy Swiatek.

Too often today, Sabalenka tried strong-arming shots finding the net instead. 

“It wasn’t the final I really expected. Didn’t play my best at all,” Sabalenka told the media in Rome. “Anyway, I’m going to be positive after these couple of weeks. I went through so many things during these weeks.

“I’m proud that I was able to, no matter what, stay there, to keep winning, to keep fighting my way to the final. Even though it didn’t go my way, I’m still happy with the result here in Rome.”