Two weeks later Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka find themselves against each other again in the final. From Stuttgart to Madrid the script hasn’t changed, with the top two tennis players in the world rankings competing for the title on Spanish clay. In Germany Swiatek won, but Sabalenka will seek a prompt revenge.
Both are chasing the fourteenth title of their career. Swiatek won this season in Doha and as mentioned in Stuttgart, but above all she hasn’t lost a final on clay since the 2019 Lugano tournament, in what was also her first WTA final of her career. Sabalenka’s 2023 was definitely marked by her Grand Slam victory in Australia and previously she had also won the title in Adelaide. The Belarusian, however, “stopped”, losing the next two finals in Indian Wells and precisely Stuttgart.
Swiatek is the queen of clay and is the big favorite for the upcoming Roland Garros. In Stuttgart, the Pole defeated Sabalenka in two sets with a score of 6-3 6-4 in a match in which he conceded (and also annulled) only one break point to the Belarusian. In Madrid she has so far dominated over all rivals, except for the Russian Alexandrova, who managed to snatch even a set from her, complicating the Polish’s plans a bit.
The land of Madrid is different than the others andd is probably Sabalenka’s best chance to try and find his first career win on clay against Swiatek. The faster surface and certainly more suitable for the blows of the Belarusian compared to the upcoming Rome and Paris, can help the world number two, who will try to interrupt Swiatek’s reign on red clay.
PHOTO: LiveMedia/Irina R Hipolito/DPPI – LivePhotoSport.it