The Polish Iga Swiatek overwhelmed the Tunisian Ons Jabeur this Sunday in the final of the WTA 1,000 in Rome in two sets, 6-2 and 6-2which accredits her as champion of the Italian tournament for the second consecutive year.
Swiatek maintains his reign in Rome. The world number 1 completed her brilliant time in the Italian capital with a final in which she was also far superior to her rival, the brand-new champion of the Madrid Open, whom she despaired of with her precise and powerful shots to win her fifth WTA 1,000.
The first Polish tennis player in history to win a ‘Grand Slam’, Roland Garros in 2020, he didn’t drop a single set on his way to the Foro Italico final. And he didn’t do it against the Tunisian either.
Swiatek started very strong in the first round, as usual. He broke Jabeur’s first serve and quickly went 3-0 upto later put the match on track with another ‘break’ that meant 6-2 in the first round.
Surely in the heads of both tennis players, Jabeur’s path to the final was present. The Tunisian had reasons to believe in the comeback after the harvest against Sakkari and turning the tie around with Kasatkina when the Russian enjoyed a match point.
But Swiatek did not allow the third feat of the African in Rome. He was exercising the defense of his 2021 title and He chased away the doubt with two breaks on the number 7 in the ranking to go 4-0. Right after right, he was moving his rival around the track, who tried to counteract with not entirely precise left shots that the Polish saved.
Jabeur did not throw in the towel and took out that claw he has to close the gap on the scoreboard with a break. He was about to surprise with another consecutive, which would have meant 4-3 against him but with the service, but he wasted four break balls. The Pole shouted when she took the game and made it 5-2 in her favour, letting go of the anger and tension accumulated in the face of the resistance and the beginning of the comeback that her rival had begun.
The game was on track, we just had to close it with one more game. The serve belonged to Jabeur, but Swiatek snatched it from him to seal the double 6-2 and dropping to the ground to celebrate the title in tears before merging into a heartfelt hug with his rival.
Swiatek’s victory marks her fifth WTA 1,000 in her career. At 21 years old, she is positioned as the reference of women’s tennis and as a candidate to lift Roland Garrosthe first and only ‘Grand Slam’ that he has in his showcase.