Iga Swiatek (Twitter)
Top seed Iga Swiatek will face 2nd seed Aryna Sabalenka in the summit clash of the Madrid Open
Iga Swiatek was invincible in 2022 and she has replicated her form even this year. However, she has choked in the final stages of some of the tournaments in 2023 and she would definitely like to rectify that in the Madrid Open final. Swiatek has won two WTA titles already this year – the Qatar Open and the Stuttgart Open besides reaching the semi-finals of the Indian Wells Masters and finishing as runners-up at the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The World No.1 women’s star is coming into this match at the back of a dominating win against Veronika Kudermetova. The Polish ace began her campaign with a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Julia Grabher and followed it up with a commendable win over No.28 seed Bernarda Pera before getting the better of Ekaterina Alexandrova. She then registered comprehensive straight set victories against Petra Martic and Kudermetova to set up a summit clash against Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka has been in sublime touch this season and she has carried forward the positive momentum to Madrid. The Russian star started this year with a bang winning the Australian Open and has made two WTA finals in the last two months. The 2nd seed has dropped only one set so far at the Madrid Open and is coming into this encounter following an emphatic 6-4, 6-1 victory over ninth seed Maria Sakkari in the semi-finals.
Date – Saturday, 6th May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – To be announced
Location – Madrid, Spain
Match details – Final
Swiatek and Sabalenka have played each other seven times before on the WTA tour. They know each other’s game very well and all the encounters were closely fought but Swiatek has earned more victories and currently leads 5-2 on head-to-head. On paper, Swiatek is the clear favourite going into this match both in terms of form and rankings but we can certainly expect the 2nd seeded Sabalenka to pose a tough challenge. It promises to be an intense clash and we are predicting a win for Swiatek in three sets.
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