Swiatek Survives 3 Match Points, Topples Sabalenka In Madrid Masters Final Thriller

The best rivalry in women’s tennis resumed today at the Madrid Masters 1000 and it didn’t disappoint as the top two players in the world, No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, played until the very end with Swiatek coming out on top in a thriller 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7).

The longest match of the season — at 3 hours, 11 minutes — saw Swiatek take the last three games of the first set to grab the lead. But Sabalenka would turn the tables going up a break 2-0 and eventually breaking again to force a decider.

In the third, Sabalenka would draw first blood for 3-1 before Sabalenka quickly leveled. Swiatek stood six points from the win with Sabalenka serving 4-all, 0-30. Then Sabalenka would see two match points with Swiatek serving 5-6.

Both had match points in the ensuing breaker but Swiatek cashed her second one in at 8-7 to claim her first Madrid Masters crown and her 20th overall title.

“For sure when I look back in maybe a few years, it will mean a lot,” Swiatek said to the WTA. “But for now, I’m just happy that I won this tournament anyway. Doesn’t matter for me if I won it before or not. I try to win each tournament that I play.

“I think it was more about who’s going to be less stressed and who’s going to be able to play with more freedom,” she added. “I think actually for most of the match, I felt like some decisions were pretty courageous. I was sometimes a little bit back.

“So at the end, I just wanted to not do that and to also be courageous.”

Sabalenka was 2-0 against world No. 1s in the Madrid final until today. She drops to 3-7 against Swiatek.

“I’m happy with the level I played, with the effort I put into this match and into this week,” Sabalenka said. “It’s a lot of good things to take out of this tournament, and I think I’m leaving Madrid with positive thoughts.”

“I’m going to suffer for a day, and tomorrow I’m leaving to Rome, so I’m going to forget it quickly,” she said. “It’s my birthday tomorrow. I hope I’m going to be in a good mood.”

“In these kind of matches, it’s just like a few points,” Sabalenka said. “Probably when I broke in the third set, I should have been more focused on my serve, but at the same time, it’s not like I double-faulted. It’s just, like, she played great tennis and she broke me back.

“I really want to see many more finals against her. I want to see more wins than losses,” she added. “But I really hope that we’ll be able to keep the level or increase the level every year.”