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Iga Swiątek
Photo:
Frank Franklin II / AP
Iga Świątek won the US Open final against Ons Jabeur 6:2, 7:6.
It was the third success in a Grand Slam tournament for the currently best tennis player in the world after the two victories at the French Open in 2020 and 2022.
It was Jabeur's second consecutive Grand Slam final defeat after losing to Jelena Rybakina at Wimbledon.
Świątek started the match flawlessly, powerfully and made Jabeur despair in the early stages.
Twelve of the first 14 points went to the Pole, resulting in a quick 3-0 lead.
It is not for nothing that Jabeur will be in second place in the world rankings for the second time in her career next Monday, right behind Świątek.
Cheered on by her box, the Tunisian made the re-break and reduced the lead to 2:3.
But Świątek lived up to her reputation as the best return player in the world.
Jabeur didn't get any free points on his own serve and was quickly under pressure.
After two more breaks for Świątek, the first set was decided after half an hour.
In the round of 16 Świątek had won against the German hopeful Jule Niemeier and had big problems for a set and a half.
"I think she learned a lot from the match," said Angelique Kerber, 2016 US Open winner, as a co-commentator at Eurosport about Niemeier.
“She will definitely get her chances.” Jabeur, on the other hand, had almost no chance in the final, even in the second set.
Świątek lets Jabeur back into the match
The world number one played a match close to perfection.
The serve came with great consistency, the returns immediately put Jabeur under pressure, the forehand came very hard and with her excellent footwork, the 21-year-old also received Jabeur's precisely placed punches.
For the 28-year-old Jabeur, the match became increasingly dismantling, she seemed desperate.
Świątek is known for never letting up, having kept clean sheets on many sets in recent months.
Jabeur wanted to prevent that by all means, the last time Madison Keys had lost a set 0: 6 in a US Open final against Sloane Stephens.
With the score at 0:3, Jabeur had to fend off two breakballs and managed to win the game with three good first serves.
Now she was better in the match, the looseness was back and Jabeur equalized to 4:4.
In the next game she got breakballs again, that could have been the turning point in this one-sided final for a long time.
However, Świątek was also able to rely on her serve and on one or the other slight mistake of her opponent and so it went into the tiebreak - which she won almost 7:5.
kra