WTA Madrid: Can Sabalenka take revenge against Swiatek?
In the final of the WTA Tour 1000 tournament in Madrid today from 6:30 p.m. (live on the tennis channel app) the two currently best players in the world will meet again: Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka .
by Jens Huiber
last edit: May 06, 2023, 07:35 am
It's probably not far from the truth to say that Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are not planning any vacations together. Swiatek wears a bow in the Ukrainian national colors in most matches and doesn't think it's good that Russian and Belarusian players are still allowed to play on the WTA tour. Sabalenka recently said in Stuttgart that she would like the war in Ukraine to end, but well, what should she do?
From a sporting point of view, a meeting between Swiatek and Sabalenka is the greatest pleasure on the WTA tour these days (at the beginning of the year, however, this applied to the games between Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina).
Swiatek with a different match plan against Sabalenka than Sakkari
The two have met seven times so far, and Iga Swiatek has won five of these matches. Like the final in Stuttgart a few days ago. So now Aryna Sabalenka gets the chance to take revenge at the first opportunity. Interesting stat: It's only twice in the past four decades that current numbers one and two have met on clay more than once in a season: Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova in 1984, and Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova in 2013.
The record on sand basically speaks for the world number one from Poland. Swiatek won all nine matches at Terre Battue, but Sabalenka only lost one. Exactly that in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
In Madrid, however, the conditions are different than in Stuttgart, which in turn could suit Aryna Sabalenka. The reigning Australian Open winner plays faster than anyone else. Then when an opponent, like Maria Sakkari in the semifinals, tries to get past Sabalenka with speed, that can't go well. Iga Swiatek will certainly do things differently.
Here is the individual tableau in Madrid
madrid map