Poland’s Iga Swiatek lifts the crown at the US Open
the polish tennis player Every Swiatek asserted her status as number one on the circuit tonight to win the title of US Open champion by defeating the Tunisian Our Jabeur in two sets 6-2, 7-6 (5).
Swiatek, 21, needed nearly two hours to end Jabeur’s dream of becoming the first African to win a Grand Slam.
Lying there on the center court of Arthur Ashe after winning the championship point in a tiebreak, Swiatek confirmed the great moment she is going through in her career. This is his second big title this season as he comes from winning Roland Garros. He can say that right now he dominates on clay and hard court.
“I am proud to have achieved this title. This tournament is demanding. There are many factors: the public, the noise, the temptations of a city like New York”, said Swiatek with emotion during the award ceremony.
“I think that at this time when we need unity as nations, connecting people through tennis is important,” he added, not before acknowledging that it was a tough match.
The young Polish woman wins a prize of 2.6 million dollars.
The final was played in sunny weather and the mercury marking 80 degrees Farenheit. Both players were received with the energy and unparalleled warmth of the New York fans, but it was clear that the enthusiasm turned to the Tunisian when it came to celebrating each point she achieved.
However, it was Swiatek who, with a more tactical and cerebral strategy, managed to win the decisive plays and take advantage of his opponent’s inconsistencies.
From the beginning of the first set, which lasted only half an hour, the Polish body language denoted concentration and self-confidence. She actually went ahead 3-0 by breaking Jabeur’s serve who failed to find the creativity of her game and engaged in several double faults (4 throughout the match).
The Tunisian even saw several points go up in smoke with her classic volley game at the net. The short passes did not pay off this time. Nor did the first serve go in his favor. He barely achieved 64% effectiveness compared to 79% for Swiatek.
In the second set things became a little more even, Jabeur entered a little more determined to control the game and even when she was down 0-3 she found strength and recovered to take things to 6-6 and force the tiebreak.
When it seemed that the wishes of the fans to see a defining third set were fulfilled, Swiatek’s cool head prevailed to define the 7-5.
“I want to thank the public for supporting me. I really tried but Iga didn’t make things easy for me and they deserve to have won,” said the 28-year-old Jabeur. “But I will ever win this title. I will continue to work hard for that,” he added.
“I hope to inspire the new generations, as Martina Navratilova or Arantxa Sánchez have motivated me,” she added when asked about what it means for her to have managed to advance so far on the circuit.
Next week Jabeur will be number 2 in the standings. In this tournament he takes $1.3 million.
“This is only the beginning of many great things to come,” said the Tunisian who, despite losing, knows that she has the quality of play to be among the top 10 on the circuit for a long time.
The event this Saturday at the Flushing Open it had 27,988 viewers.
