Iga Swiatek clinched another championship victory in her stunning career so far, cruising past Aryna Sabalenka 6-2 6-3 to win the Italian Open.
The world No 1 dominated an opening set which saw her break Sabalenka twice, and wrap it up in just 35 minutes.
The second set proved vastly different, however, as Sabalenka proved the player on top for so long, but just could not break Swiatek despite seven chances.
Indeed, Sabalenka passed up five break points in the second game of the second set, and passed up another two in the fourth game as Swiatek somehow held on.
From there, the Pole struck and broke Sabalenka with her very first chance, visibly undoing the spirit of her opponent, who struggled to compete in the remainder.
The French Open starts next weekend and Swiatek will be aiming for a third straight title in Paris and fourth overall.
Swiatek extended her tour winning streak to 12 matches and became the first woman to complete the “dirt double” of winning Madrid and Rome back-to-back since Serena Williams in 2013.
The final was quite a contrast from when Swiatek had to save three championship points before beating Sabalenka in a third-set tie-break in the Madrid Open final two weeks ago.
This time, Swiatek applied so much pressure early on that Sabalenka slammed her racket onto the clay in the fourth game and then had to grab a new one from her bag.
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Annabel Croft questions if Sabalenka can do anything to overcome Swiatek, who looked unstoppable in the Rome final
Even on points when the hard-hitting Sabalenka seemed in control, Swiatek used her superb foot speed and accurate groundstrokes to turn the dynamics around and force Sabalenka into errors.
Adding to her titles from 2021 and 2022, Swiatek improved her career record in Rome to 20-2. At 22, the Polish player could soon approach the women’s record of five Italian Open titles held by Chris Evert.
Rafael Nadal, Swiatek’s idol, holds the overall record with 10 Rome trophies.
The men’s final on Sunday features 2017 champion Alexander Zverev against 24th-ranked Nicolas Jarry.
Swiatek also improved her career record against Sabalenka to 8-3. Swiatek has won nine straight finals since she lost to Sabalenka in Madrid last year.
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Sabalenka says she hopes to meet Swiatek in the final of the French Open so she can beat her, with the world No 1 agreeing!
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