Swiatek eases past World No.1 Sabalenka to clinch spot in WTA Finals summit clash

Mexico City [Mexico]: Iga Swiatek defeated World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday to set a summit clash with Jessica Pegula in the WTA finals.

Swiatek will reclaim the top rank she lost two months ago if she wins the final match against Jessica Pegula on Monday, and she will be the year-end No. 1 for the second time in a row. If Pegula wins, Sabalenka will finish on top for the first time in her career.

The 22-year-old from Poland has dropped a total of only 19 games in Cancun.

The match resumed on Sunday, with 18 minutes elapsed and Sabalenka serving to tie the first set at 2-all, 30-all. Swiatek broke her serve in just two points, setting the tone for the rest of the match.

Swiatek served out the set, hitting a fast backhand down the line that Sabalenka couldn’t quite track down, resulting in a running forehand that went long. While the wind wasn’t as strong as it had been all week, it was still a factor. Sabalenka was swinging off-balance along the baseline a number of times. Swiatek’s superb footwork meant he rarely appeared out of place.

Swiatek won the third game of the second set in a battle of wills. Sabalenka made another blunder, and she converted her fourth break point. Swiatek later broke Sabalenka for the third time in the match in the seventh game before serving out the victory.

The final statistics highlighted the match’s razor-thin margins. Sabalenka had only five wins and 18 unforced mistakes. Swiatek scored nine and nine, which is indicative of her solid game.

With the No.1 ranking on the line, Swiatek described the next summit clash as the “toughest one.”

“I feel like it’s still a long way away because I feel like tomorrow’s match will be the toughest one. We can talk about it tomorrow after the match. I’m just going to continue doing what I’ve been doing in [recent] days. I can’t truly tell you the keys for tomorrow.

I’m going to work on that tonight,” Swiatek was quoted as saying by WTA.