By Tony Fairbairn
- Iga Swiatek [1] def Ons Jabeur [5] 6-2 7-6(5)
- Swiatek claims the ‘sky is the limit’ for her after winning her third Grand Slam title at the US Open.
NEW YORK, USA – World number one Iga Swiatek believes the ‘sky is the limit’ for her as she defeated Ons Jabeur in straight sets to claim a third Grand Slam title at the US Open.
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Iga Swiatek [1] def Ons Jabeur [5] 6-2 7-6(5)
Iga Swiatek won her third Grand Slam title at the US Open after a straight sets victory over Ons Jabeur. The world number one hasn’t played her best tennis throughout the tournament but raised her game in the early stages of this match. An impeccable record in finals on her side, the Pole took advantage of a tight Jabeur playing some confident tennis to claim a 3-0 lead.
The Tunisian was looking to use her experience in the Wimbledon final to come back into the match and that’s exactly what the fifth seed did as she produced some stunning forehands to put Swiatek under pressure. After getting on the board, Jabeur played an aggressive return game to break back and put the match back on serve at 3-2.
However just to break back, Jabeur needed to produce some out of this world tennis and the Tunisian struggled to sustain that level as Swiatek went back to be aggressive. The top seed’s defensive skills mixed with an insane net point saw her take control as she broke and held again to take a 5-2 lead.
Jabeur’s frustrations grew as she failed to take control of the match and struggled to keep up with Swiatek’s high level of consistency. The Tunisian tried everything in her power but nothing was working as the Pole broke for a third time in the set to seal the opening set 6-2 in 30 minutes.
There needed to be a different approach from Jabeur just to make this competitive and the Tunisian managed to keep a powerfully consistent base in the second set. The fifth seed managed to test the Pole with some clever patterns of play as she tried to force the break in the opening game.
Swiatek remained firm though and punished Jabeur with some accurate hitting from the baseline as she turned defence into attack with ease. The Pole broke for a 2-0 lead and just like the opening set held for a 3-0 lead as the title was edging closer.
Jabeur was slamming her racket in frustration and verbally letting her frustration loose as Swiatek created a few more break points for the double break lead. However that seemed to be the spark the Tunisian needed as she earned a critical hold of serve and broke the Swiatek with ease as the match was back on serve at 3-2.
Just like the opening set Swiatek would immediately break back but there was more fire in Jabeur’s belly as she believed she could turn this match around. Meanwhile the crowd were distracting Swiatek slightly as the Pole lost that focus and edge she had in the opening set.
More aggressive and proactive tennis from Jabeur from the baseline and net saw her reel off two games in a row for 4-4. This was turning into a fiercely competitive match as the Tunisian threatened to win a third game in a row as she created three more break points.
Just like the entire tournament though Swiatek raised her level when it mattered most as the Pole earned herself the most important service hold of the entire tournament to take a 5-4 lead. Jabeur resisted late pressure from the world number one as she saved championship point to force a second set tiebreak.
The Tunisian had her chances in the tiebreak but ultimately produced too many unforced errors to make it count for anything. In the end Swiatek’s consistency was vital and the Pole converted her second championship point to claim her third Grand Slam title in an emotional occasion.
‘Sky is the Limit’
Swiatek’s victory in New York saw her claim a seventh title of the season, the first person to do that since Serena Williams in 2014. Another couple of stats to put Swiatek’s success into perspective is that she is the youngest player to win her third Grand Slam title since Maria Sharapova in 2008.
Furthermore the Pole is the ninth player of the Open Era to win her third Grand Slam title before turning 22 and most importantly this victory means she has won her last ten finals in straight sets.
A world-class stat for a world-class player and Swiatek spoke after the match about what the future has in store for her and what this title means to her:
“At the beginning of the season I realised that maybe I can have some good [hard-court] results on WTA events,” Swiatek told the WTA website.
“I also made it to the semifinal of Australian Open. But I wasn’t sure if I was on the level yet to win actually a Grand Slam, especially US Open where the surface is so fast. It’s something that I wasn’t expecting for sure. It’s also like a confirmation for me that sky is the limit. I’m proud, also surprised little bit. Just happy that I was able to do that”
The sky is indeed the limit for Swiatek as she continues her dominant season and is set to end the year as world number one.
The Pole also compared her win in New York to her other two Grand Slam victories at Roland Garros:
“I don’t know if it’s more than the second win on Roland Garros because I feel like back then the pressure was really on and everybody was kind of expecting me to win,” Swiatek said.
“Here I managed to go ahead my expectations lower, and also I feel like people were not expecting a lot from me on hard court. So mentally I think Roland Garros was a little bit tougher. But tennis-wise and physically here for sure it was tougher.”
‘I believe this will take me time’
As for Jabeur it’s a case of reflecting on what could have been after missing opportunities in the second set to force a deciding set.
It’s now the second consecutive defeat in a Grand Slam final as she looks to win her maiden Grand Slam title in 2023.
Speaking after the defeat Jabeur is ready to learn from the defeat to Swiatek and admits it will take her time to claim a Grand Slam title:
“I struggled to win my first WTA title. It took me time. So I believe this will take me time,” Jabeur told the WTA website.
“The most important thing is accepting it, learning from the finals that I lost. But yeah, definitely I’m not someone that going to give up. I am sure I’m going to be in the final again. I will try my best to win it.”
Jabeur also admitted that she has no regrets about the match despite the missed opportunities and has motivation to be back into the finals in New York:
“To be honest with you, I have nothing to regret because I did everything possible. I wish I served a little bit better today,” Jabeur said.
“It would have helped me a lot. You know Iga, how she plays in finals. It’s very tough to beat her. I will keep positive and work on the things that was missing today. I always dreamed to play this one. I will maybe show myself there and build more confidence to really get ready for the next season because I feel like I have a lot to show next season.
“Catching up in the ranking, I know she has a lot of defending points. I have none. That’s kind of the goal.”
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