By Tony Fairbairn
- Iga Swiatek [1] v Ons Jabeur [5]
- H2H: Tied at 2-2
NEW YORK, USA – The two best players on the women’s tour this season collide for the US Open title as world number one Iga Swiatek takes on Ons Jabeur.
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Iga Swiatek [1] v Ons Jabeur [5] H2H & Match Fundamentals
Iga Swiatek’s search for a third Grand Slam title survived a stern test from Aryna Sabalenka but the world number one played her best tennis when required to reach another Grand Slam final. Swiatek hasn’t played her best tennis over the tournament but has produced effective results as she’s looking to cap off a dream season. Standing in Swiatek’s way is Ons Jabeur who convincingly defeated Caroline Garcia to reach her second consecutive Grand Slam final. Jabeur is looking to win her maiden Grand Slam title and create more history for African tennis in what has been an incredible season for the Tunisian.
| Iga Swiatek [1] v Ons Jabeur [5] | H2H: Tied at 2-2 |
| US Open 2022 | New York, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $1,300,000/$2,600,000 |
| Second on Arthur Ashe Stadium (21:00 BST) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Swiatek and Jabeur’s only meeting this season saw the world number one drop only four games in the Rome final.
Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2022)
| H2H: | Iga Swiatek (WR 1) | Ons Jabeur (WR 5) |
| Tournament Previous Best | R4 (2021) | R3 (2019, 2020, 2021) |
| 1st Serve Return Points % | 44.8 | 40.5 |
| Return Points Won % | 51.2 | 46.2 |
| Break Point Conversion % | 53 | 50 |
| Break Point Saved % | 59.9 | 55.2 |
| Total Points Won % | 56.1 | 53.1 |
Swiatek’s clinical and efficient returning will be crucial in this match-up but Jabeur’s effective serving on big points is what makes this match so fascinating.
Playing Styles and Prediction
Swiatek has had to battle her way through the tournament with tough wins over Jule Niemeier and Sabalenka testing the Pole’s ability to find a way to win. However the world number one has passed every test over the last fortnight and now stands one win away from claiming her first Grand Slam title outside of Roland Garros.
After her semi-final victory Swiatek reflected on her tournament so far and her emotional control leading to this match:
“I’m pretty happy that even though maybe I wasn’t feeling 100% perfectly from the beginning of the tournament, I was still able to get better and better and to play a really solid game. It’s the best thing basically,” Swiatek told the WTA website.
“Like, on clay I feel just perfect. But for me actually winning when I’m not feeling perfectly, it’s the best kind of thing and best feeling. The satisfaction is pretty big.
“Earlier I felt like my emotions were taking over and I was panicking a little bit when I was losing. For sure I grew up, I learned a lot. And the work we’ve put with Daria [Abramowicz, her sports psychologist] for sure helped. Right now it’s just easier for me to actually logically think about what I can change. And I feel like I have more skills to do that [rather] than one type of way to play.”
Swiatek will face her toughest test yet as she faces Jabeur who is into her second consecutive Grand Slam final by playing confident and resilient tennis.
The Tunisian is the second best player this season behind Swiatek and her latest win over Garcia was a reminder as to why she can be so dangerous to play against.Ahead of her second consecutive Grand Slam final, Jabeur reflected on her experience at Wimbledon and how it compares to being in the final in New York:
“Feels more real, to be honest with you, just to be in the finals again,” Jabeur told the WTA website.
“At Wimbledon I was kind of just living the dream, and I couldn’t believe it. Even just after the match, I was just going to do my things and not realizing it was an amazing achievement already. But now just I hope I’m getting used to it. Just happy the fact that I backed up the results in Wimbledon and people are not really surprised I’m in the finals.”
Swiatek will look to use her impressive returning and impressive transition game from defensive positions to swing the match in her favour. While Jabeur will look to continue to be aggressive and use her impressive serving to dictate the points.
If Jabeur can keep mentally on her game and not let the nerves get to her then she stands a big chance of winning. However Swiatek’s ability to win when not playing her best has to make her favourite for the title not to mention she has the belief that when on her game, nobody can touch her on the tour at the moment.
Prediction: Swiatek in three sets.
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