World No. 1 Iga Swiatek secured three championship points to dethrone Aryna Sabalenka in a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7) classic at the Madrid Open on Saturday.
Sabalenka had won the 2023 final in three sets, but this time it was Swiatek who triumphed, securing her 20th career title and denying the Belarusian a third title on the red clay of the Spanish capital.
The match was the first contest of the season between the top two women in the women’s rankings and lived up to expectations as it turned out to be the longest duel between the two Grand Slam champions at three hours and 11 minutes.
“Aryna…to many more finals…it’s always a challenge playing against you,” four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek said in her on-court interview.
“Thank you for motivating me and forcing me to become a better player. I would like to thank my team. I’ve given pretty nice speeches before, so I don’t know what else to say to make it feel special. But I think what you do.” What I saw on the pitch was really special anyway.
“Thank you for staying by my side through the ups and downs. For your understanding and my motivation, because without you I wouldn’t be here. I hope we continue to make progress. In the end, that’s the most important thing. I would like to thank my family who is watching.
Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka said: “Congratulations Iga on another great tournament. You did an incredible job. Hopefully I can do it next year. Three hours. That’s a long time! Hopefully we can recover quickly for the next tournament.”
Social media reaction to the epic finale
“Phenomenal tennis”
“The quality they were able to show over three hours was phenomenal. “It was high quality stuff,” Anne Keothavong continued Sky Sports Tennis.
“It was a courageous performance from both players.”
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