Iga Swiatek beats Ons Jabeur for 1st US Open title, 3rd Slam



Iga Swiatek beat Ons Jabeur for the first US title, 3rd Slam<br />













































NEW YORK, Sept. 11 (US): Iga Swiatek has been as good as she has been this year, she came to the US Open unsure of what to expect.


She complained that the women used different and slightly lighter tennis balls than the men at Flushing Meadows, as she was not past the fourth round. She was trying to get used to the noise and distractions, the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple. And she’s arrived with a record of just 4-4 since her 37-game winning streak ended in July, according to the Associated Press.


None of this matters now. She cemented her position as the new dominant figure in her sport by winning what is expected to be the last championship of Serena Williams’ career, as top seed Swiatek outlasted fifth Ons Jabeur 6-2, 7-6 (5) at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday to win With her first US Open and her third Grand Slam title overall.


“It’s something I definitely wasn’t expecting. It also serves as my affirmation that the sky is the limit,” said Swiatek, who is 55-7 in Tour-level matches with seven titles in 2022. Professional Tennis Association. “I’m proud. Also a little surprised.”


She admitted that she had her worries about the US Open after a few shaky performances in tough tuning tournaments.


It turned out to be a good thing: She’s the first-ranked woman at the top of the list to win the US Open since Williams, who won 23 times in 2014.


“I feel like I’m on the court, I can just do my job, and I’m happy with that, because I can kind of clear those doubts,” Swiatek said.


Swiatek, like Jabeur, travels with a sports psychologist, and it took some persistence to finish this one. At 6-5 in the second set, Swiatek held her first championship point. Just before Jabeur was introduced, Swiatek sprinted to the sideline to change rackets, an unusual choice at that moment.


When the action resumed, Swiatek missed a backhand. It could have been difficult to recover from. Indeed, Jaber pushed things into the tiebreak, which then led 5-4. But Swiatek solidified herself, winning the final three points and quickly accepting the Silver Cup and a $2.6 million check, joking: “I’m really glad this isn’t cash.”


The 21-year-old Poland won the French Open for the second time in June and is the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to claim two major titles in a single season.


“You really raised the bar. It’s a great thing for our sport,” said Jaber, 28, from Tunisia who will rise to second place in the rankings on Monday.


She is the first African and first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final and was participating for the second time in a row.


But she was 0-2 at that point, including a runner-up at Wimbledon in July.


“Come on, my love, for sure, I’m not someone who will give up,” said Jaber, whose supporting team wore black T-shirts with white graffiti reading “Yalla Habibi” in Arabic.


“I’m sure, I’ll be in the final again,” she added.


It didn’t help on that 85°F (29.4°C) sunny afternoon that Jaber needed to tackle Swiatek, who has won the past 10 finals all in straight sets and has been fantastic from the start.


Jabeur didn’t experience a single break point in her semi-final win, but she broke immediately when Swatik struck a backhand across the field from a short ball to crown a 15-hit exchange.


“The only match here where I started well,” said Swiatek, who had to come back from a set in the fourth and quarter-finals.


Eight minutes into the game against Jaber, Swiatek had snatched 12 of the first 14 points to score 3-0.


Jaber said, “They put a lot of pressure on me.”


Using her front hand with a heavy top spin to take charge from the baseline, Swiatek set the pace and path of the points. She turned her opponent this way and that, never letting Jabeur use the kinds of courses and variety she was used to.


When Jabeur has already shown some of what she can do, Swiatek has, for the most part, been able to extend the points. She used her powerful coverage of the court, backed by a soundtrack of sharp sneakers darting everywhere, even slipping occasionally when she hit the ball, the way one does on red clay, her favorite surface.


When Jaber missed a chip forehand early in the second set, she dropped her racket to reflect her desperation. After a few points, she threw her racket unbalanced and fell flat on her face. A backhand shot running down the line from Swiatek at the next point made it 2-0 in that set. Swiatek raised his clenched fist and shouted, “Come in!”


Then Jaber made things interesting, for a while.


But only for a short time.


She made it to 4-all, and after she ended up on her back when an unbalanced backhand won a point in the next game, she stayed there, enjoying the moment, pumping her fists as she was lying on the ground.


Jaber had three break points in that match, one of which would have allowed her to serve for the group. She couldn’t push there, even though she lost a ground hit on both of them.


Swiatek needed to wait 10 minutes from the point of the first match to the point where the contest was closed, but she did. Maybe you’ll feel more comfortable at the US Open from now on.

































































Source link

READ MORE  Giroud delivers in big games as AC Milan chases title

Leave a Comment