Inspired by Nadal, Swiatek Wins WTA Madrid Final Drama

Iga Swiatek won the WTA 1000 Madrid. She won the final in 3 hours 11 minutes against Aryna Sabalenka.

AFP/PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU

Iga Swiatek held the WTA 1000 Madrid champion trophy after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the final match at La Caja Magica, Madrid on Saturday (4/5/2024).

MADRID, SATURDAY — Iga Swiatek completed the title of a major tournament on clay by winning the WTA 1000 Madrid. He overcame enormous pressure from Aryna Sabalenka because he was inspired by his idol, Rafael Nadal.

Trailing 1-3 and facing three match points, Sabalenka in the third set was part of the pressure in the final which took place at Manolo Santana Court, La Caja Magica, Madrid, Spain, on Saturday (4/5/2024 ) afternoon local time or Saturday midnight Indonesian time. Swiatek finally won the match with a score of 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7) after competing for 3 hours 11 minutes.

Swiatek lay on her back on the court after running after the ball from Sabalenka's powerful forehand which fell outside the baseline. It was the final point in the match which became Swiatek's second match point. Meanwhile, Sabalenka failed to convert three match points into the title since winning 6-5.

Also read: Finding How to Stop Swiatek

After shaking hands with Sabalenka, Swiatek approached her team in the stands. He hugged his coaching team while crying.

This victory avenges Swiatek's defeat of 3-6, 6-3, 3-6 in the final of the same tournament against Sabalenka in 2023. Since then, Swiatek has remained undefeated in seven finals, including in Madrid 2024.

AFP/THOMAS COEX

Iga Swiatek lay on the court after scoring the last point to secure a victory against Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA 1000 Madrid final on Saturday (4/5/2024).

The Polish tennis player adds her victory over Sabalenka to seven out of ten meetings. Three of them took place in the finals out of four competitions in the peak of the tournament.

Swiatek shared that she was inspired by Nadal in cultivating and improving her mental strength while under pressure. The world number one in women's singles was surprised with herself when she felt that her mental state was at its strongest level during the third set.

Also read: Swiatek and Sabalenka Fight for Madrid Champion Title Again

"One thing that comes to my mind is Rafa's ability to do that in some matches, one of them being the one against Daniil (Medvedev) in the Australian Open final. He had difficulties and maybe was stressed, but he managed to bounce back. That gives me hope even though I had been playing for more than two hours," Swiatek said on the official WTA website.

The moment of Nadal battling Medvedev, as referred to by Swiatek, occurred in the 2022 Australian Open final. Nadal appeared in the tournament in a newly-healed condition from a torn hip muscle injury. Additionally, he recently recovered from Covid-19 in December 2021.

In the best of five sets match, Nadal lost the first two sets of the final. However, he recovered and finally won 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.

AFP/THOMAS COEX

Iga Swiatek returns the ball to her opponent, Aryna Sabalenka, in the WTA 1000 Madrid final, Saturday (4/5/2024).

Swiatek, who idolizes Nadal, suspects that this year's Madrid final will really depend on who has lower stress levels and can play with less pressure. ”In a tight match like that, I ultimately couldn't determine what differentiated us. I think we both deserve to win. "The final decider is in the small moments during the tiebreaker," he explained.

The WTA Madrid title is Swiatek's 20th professional tournament title since she started competing in 2016. She achieved this at the age of 22, becoming the youngest tennis player with 20 titles since Caroline Wozniacki in 2012. Nine of the 20 titles were won by Swiatek from WTA 1000 and four from Grand Slam events.

The championship trophy from Madrid also adds to his title from high-level clay court tournaments. He has obtained three titles from the French Open Grand Slam and two titles from the WTA 1000 Roma.

Sabalenka is trying to find the positive side of her performance in Madrid. This year, she faced more intense difficulties by having to play three sets in five out of six rounds. She is proud that she was able to overcome them.

"I am happy with my level of performance and effort during this week. I can leave Madrid with a positive mindset even though I will suffer for a day," said the world's second-ranked tennis player.

AFP/THOMAS COEX

Aryna Sabalenka hits the ball during the WTA 1000 Madrid final against Iga Swiatek, Saturday (4/5/2024).

She will bring that positive mindset to compete in the next tournament, WTA Rome, on May 7-19. Swiatek and other world-class tennis players will also compete there before appearing at the French Open on May 26-June 9, as the peak of clay court tournament competition.

The men's singles final in Madrid, on Sunday, will be between Andrey Rublev and Felix Auger-Aliassime. This was Rublev's fifth final in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament with one title coming from the 2023 Madrid Masters.

Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime will have his first final in the highest level tournament on the ATP Tour. He reached the final in a quite unique way, namely winning a walkover (WO) over the top seed, Jannik Sinner, in the quarter-finals and winning twice over an opponent who withdrew while competing due to injury. This happened against Jiri Lehecka in the semifinals and Jakub Mensik in the third round. (AP/AFP)