STUTTGART, GERMANY (REUTERS) – Tennis’ world No. 1 Iga Swiatek captured her fourth straight title of the 2022 season by beating Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 6-2 6-2 within the Stuttgart Open ultimate on Sunday (April 24), extending her profitable streak to 23 matches.
Swiatek, a former French Open champion, had breezed by means of the opening rounds of the WTA 500 clay-court match earlier than going through her greatest check within the semi-finals, the place she battled again from a set down to overcome Liudmilla Samsonova on Saturday.
The Polish 20-year-old confirmed little indicators of fatigue from that marathon conflict as she saved an early break level and raced to a 3-0 lead earlier than holding agency and taking the opening set when third-seeded Sabalenka, final 12 months’s runner-up, double-faulted.
The pair had cut up their earlier conferences – in final 12 months’s WTA Finals and the Qatar Open in February – but it surely was the in-form Swiatek who excelled of their first clay-court match, dealing effortlessly along with her opponent’s large hitting.
The error-prone Sabalenka appeared to mount a comeback after an important maintain of serve at the beginning of the second set however Swiatek switched gears to break for a 4-2 lead and accomplished the victory when the Belarusian despatched a shot lengthy.
Debutante Swiatek’s success in Stuttgart follows her triumphs in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami, and makes her a agency favorite for Roland Garros, the place she received two years in the past, beginning on May 22.
