MADRID — Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka beat top-ranked Iga Swiatek 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 to reclaim the Madrid Open title on Saturday.
Sabalenka misplaced to Swiatek within the Stuttgart closing two weeks in the past and had by no means beforehand taken a set in opposition to her Polish rival in three clay-court conferences.
But the Belarusian held nothing again by aggressively hitting for winners and breaking Swiatek 4 instances.
The Australian Open champion claimed her third title of the season and thirteenth of her profession, together with her second in Madrid after triumphing right here in 2021.
The match was the primary between the highest two ranked gamers in a WTA 1000 event closing since No. 1 Serena Williams beat No. 2 Li Na on the 2014 Miami Open. It was additionally solely the third time within the final 40 years that the highest two ladies met twice on clay in a single season.
On Sunday, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz performs Jan-Lennard Struff within the males’s closing.
PHOTOS: Sabalenka beats Swiatek to reclaim Madrid Open title
Content Source: www.washingtontimes.com