Inga Swietec defeated Ons Jabur 6-2, 7-6(5) to win her first US Open Championship and third Grand Slam title overall.
Inga Swietec defeated Ons Jabur 6-2, 7-6(5) to win her first US Open Championship and third Grand Slam title overall.
As good as she has been this year, Inga Swietek came US Open Unsure of what to expect.
She complained that the women used different, slightly lighter, tennis balls than the men at Flushing Meadows, where she had never progressed beyond the fourth round. She was trying to get used to the noise and distractions, hustle and bustle of the Big Apple. And since her 37-match winning streak ended in July, she reached a record of just 4-4.
None of this matters anymore. Consolidating her position as the new leading man of her game by winning what was expected to be the last tournament of Serena Williams’ career, No. 1-ranked Sweetek defeated No. 5 Ons Jabur in Arthur 6-2, 7-6. (5) defeated. Ash Stadium on Saturday claimed its first championship and third Grand Slam title overall at the US Open.
“It’s something I didn’t expect, for sure. It’s like a confirmation to me that the sky is the limit,” said Swietek, who won 55-7 in tour level matches in 2022 with seven trophies Well, both are the best in the WTA.” I’m proud. It was a bit of a surprise too.”
After some shaky performances at the hard-court tune-up tournament, he admitted to allaying concerns about the US Open.
It turned out fine: She is the first top-seeded woman to win the US Open 23 times Major Champion Williams in 2014.
“I think in court, I can just do my job,” Sweetek said, “and I’m happy about that, that I can clear these doubts.”
Swietec, like Jabeur, travels with a sports psychologist, and it takes some patience to finish it. In the second set, 6-5, Sweetek earned his first championship point. Just before Jabeur served, Swiatek went to the side to change the racket – an unusual choice at the time.
When the action resumed, Sweetek missed a backhand. It could have been difficult to overcome. In fact, Jaboor pushed things to a tiebreaker, after which he took a 5-4 lead. But Sweetek reinvented himself, taking the final three points and was soon accepting a silver trophy and a $2.6 million winner’s check, joking: “I’m really glad it’s not in cash.”
The 21-year-old from Poland won the French Open for the second time in June and is the first since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to win two major titles in the same season.
“He has really set the bar very high. It’s great for our game.’
She is the first African woman and the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final and was participating for the second time in a row.
But he is 0-2 at that level, including the runner-up at Wimbledon in July.
“Certainly, I’m not someone who’s going to give up,” said Jaboor, whose support team wore black shirts with white writing that read “Yalla Habibi,” Arabic for “Let’s go, My love!”
“I’m sure,” she said, “I’m going to reach the finals again.”
Strong Court Coverage
It didn’t help in this sunny, 29.4°C afternoon that Jabeur needed to tackle Swietec, which has won its last 10 finals – all in straight sets – and was very good from the get-go.
Jabeur did not suffer a single break point in her semifinal win, but she was immediately broken when Swietek caught a cross-court backhand to cap the winner’s 15-stroke exchange off short ball.
“The only match here where I had a good start was coming back from a set-down in the fourth round and quarter-finals,” Svetek said.
in eight minutes Jaber. againstSweetek had scored 12 of the first 14 points to lead 3-0.
“Put a lot of pressure on me,” said Jaboor.
Using his heavy topspin forehand to take charge from the baseline, Sweetek determined the pace and trajectory of the points. She made her opponent run like this and she would never let Jaboor use the kind of spin and variety she is used to.
When Jaboor shows something she can do, Sweetek will manage, over and over, to increase the points. She used her strong court coverage, supported by a soundtrack of squeaky sneakers, as she darted everywhere, occasionally slipping when she came upon a ball, the way one does on red clay. , his favorite surface.
When Jaboor missed a slice forehand at the start of the second set, he dropped his racket to show his disappointment. After a few points, he threw his racket, falling further off the balance. A running, down-the-line backhand passing shot from Sweetek at the next point made it 2-0 in that set. Sweetek clenched his fist and shouted, “Come on!”
Then Jaboor briefly made things interesting.
But only briefly.
She reached a 4-all and when an off-balance backhand won a point in the next game, she held onto her back, stayed there, enjoying the moment, pumping her fist while lying on the ground. was being
Jabeur earned three break chances in that game, neither of which would have allowed him to serve for the set. She couldn’t cash in there, however, as there was a groundstroke missing on each.
Sweetek had to wait 10 minutes before his first match point, which closed the contest, but he called it off. Maybe he feels more comfortable at the US Open from now on.