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Iga Swiatek defeated Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to successfully defend her title at Stuttgart Open, a WTA500 event, on Sunday.
READ – 365 days as World No. 1: Iga Swiatek’s champion run on and off the court
World No.1 Swiatek, who missed Miami Open and Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers due to a rib injury, won 6-3, 6-4 against World No.2 Sabalenka in an hour and 50 minutes to clinch her 13th career singles title. The 21-year-old Pole is the first player to win back-to-back Stuttgart titles since Angelique Kerber in 2015 and 2016. On the other hand, Sabalenka lost the summit clash in Stuttgart for the third year in a row.
Overall, Swiatek improved her record to 13-3 in the WTA singles finals.
A rare clash between WTA top two
The Stuttgart final between Swiatek and Sabalenka was the first time the world’s top two-ranked players met in a WTA singles final since the No.2 Caroline Wozniacki beat No.1 Simona Halep for the 2018 Australian Open crown.
It was also the first clay-court final between the world’s top two-ranked players in almost a decade, the last one came at 2013 French Open, where No.1 Serena Williams won against No.2 Maria Sharapova in the final.
Three-time Major winner Swiatek converted two of the six break points while saving one on her own serve to edge Australian Open champion Sabalenka in a rematch of last year’s final. She leads 5-2 in the head-to-head record against the Belarusian.
“I want to thank my team because it has been such an intense time. I am so happy we are making the right decisions,” Swiatek said, following her well-timed return from injury.
“It is a pretty exciting time. I will be coming back because I love this tournament.”
Swiatek, who defends her Roland Garros title next month, has won 23 out of her last 24 matches on clay with her sole defeat coming against Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia in the quarterfinals of last year’s Poland Open.
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