MADRID (Reuters) -
Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka beat Iga Swiatek 6-3 3-6 6-3 to win the Madrid Open on Saturday, avenging her defeat by the Polish world number one in last month’s Stuttgart final.
Sabalenka produced a great performance to beat Swiatek for the first time on clay, proving that she will be a serious title contender when the French Open begins later this month.
The 25-year-old Sabalenka made things rather uncomfortable for Swiatek from the outset with her aggressive tactics, breaking the two-time Roland Garros champion’s serve in the eighth game en route to bagging the first set.