Tennis
Sensational Swiatek downs Tunisia’s Jabeur for first U.S. Open title
World number one Iga Swiatek swept to a 6-2 7-6(5) victory over Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in the U.S. Open final on Saturday to clinch her maiden trophy at Flushing Meadows and third Grand Slam crown.
Poland’s Swiatek fell on her back and covered her face with her hands after prevailing in the tight second-set tiebreak, having sealed the win when fifth seed Jabeur’s shot sailed long.
It was twice French Open champion Swiatek’s first Grand Slam title on a hard court and the 21-year-old is the first Polish woman to win the U.S. Open.
“I really needed to stay composed and focused on the goals, and at this tournament it was really challenging,” Swiatek said during the on-court trophy ceremony.
“It’s New York, it’s so loud, it’s so crazy. There were so many temptations in the city … I’m so proud I could handle it mentally.”
In addition to the trophy, Swiatek also leaves New York with a $2.6 million winner’s check.
“I’m really glad that it’s not in cash,” she said to laughs from the sold-out crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Swiatek did well during the match to tune out the crowd, who at times whistled and made other noises while she was serving, earning stern rebukes from the chair umpire.
The demonstrative Jabeur was able to harness the energy of her fans at times but it was not enough to overcome the focused and determined Swiatek.
“Ons, such an amazing tournament, such an amazing season,” Swiatek said after improving to 3-2 lifetime against Jabeur.
“I know that this is already a pretty nice rivalry and we’re going to have many more. I’m pretty sure you’re going to win some of them so don’t worry.”
Despite the defeat, Wimbledon finalist Jabeur will regain her world number two ranking when the tournament concludes on Sunday.
“I really tried but Iga didn’t make it easy for me,” Jabeur said.
“She deserved to win today. I don’t like her very much right now but it’s okay,” she added with a smile.
“I’m going to keep fighting hard and we’ll get that title sometime soon.”
Jabeur made history at Wimbledon when she became the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final. She added another line in the history books in New York, becoming the first African woman to reach the U.S. Open championship match.
“Hopefully I can inspire more and more generations, that’s the goal,” she said. “This is just the beginning of so many things.”
TIEBREAKER ERRORS
Swiatek came out firing on Saturday, pushing Jabeur to the back of the court with her precise serve and deep groundstrokes to race to a 3-0 lead.
Jabeur found the range with her forehand to win back-to-back games for 3-2 but the momentum was short-lived as Swiatek broke back and took the 30-minute first set when the Tunisian’s backhand landed in the net.
A confident front-runner, Swiatek kept the pressure on early in the second as frustration began to mount for Jabeur, who dropped her racket in dismay when her normally trusty drop shot landed short of the net in the second game of the set.
Swiatek blasted a backhand winner down the line for a 3-0 second set lead and it seemed the match would be a brief affair.
But Jabeur rallied, saving a match point at 6-5 and forcing a tiebreak.
She made some costly unforced errors in the tiebreaker, however, which opened the door for Swiatek, who exchanged a warm embrace with the Tunisian after the match.
ONE IN 40 MILLION
Swiatek’s title in New York is the latest triumph in a season overflowing with them.
She ascended to world number one following the surprising retirement of Australian Ash Barty in March and quickly showed she was worthy of the position, winning 37 consecutive matches, including the French Open.
The claycourt specialist showed she could be successful on hard courts, too, with wins at Indian Wells and Miami, but finally looked vulnerable after early exits at U.S. Open tune-up events in Toronto and Cincinnati.
She made headlines coming into New York by criticizing the balls being used at the U.S. Open and said her expectations for herself were low.
Swiatek’s path to the title was not plain sailing.
She needed to battle back from a set down in her fourth-round match with 108th-ranked Jule Niemeier and from 4-2 down in the third set against Aryna Sabalenka in the semi-final.
But she peaked at the right time, playing her best tennis of the tournament to see off Jabeur and etch her name once again into Poland’s sporting history.
“Being raised in Poland, it’s not so sure for us that we will to be tennis superstars,” she told ESPN while white-and-red clad Polish tennis fans chanted “Iga! Iga!”.
“When I was younger I just logically thought that I’m just one of 40 million people in the country. What’s the possibility that I will be the one to be out there?
“I just worked hard day by day.”
-Reuters
Novak Djokovic battled from a set down to clinch his 100th tour-level title by beating Polish sixth seed Hubert Hurkacz 5-7 7-6(2) 7-6(2) at the Geneva Open on Saturday.
The Serbian, who turned 38 on Thursday, becomes just the third man in the Open Era to win 100 ATP titles after American Jimmy Connors and Swiss Roger Federer.
“I had to work for it, that’s for sure. Hubi was probably closer to victory (in) the entire match than I was,” Djokovic said.
“I had some chances in the first set to break his serve, then had a bad game which ended up with the double fault on set point.
“I was just trying to hang in there, I don’t know how I broke his serve… but this is what happens at the highest level. Very few points decide the winner.
“Incredible match, 7-6 in the third with a full stadium, beautiful atmosphere. I’m just grateful to clinch the 100th here.”
Djokovic’s last title came when he won gold at the Paris Olympics last year.
The latest triumph comes at the perfect time as the record 24-times Grand Slam champion bids for a fourth crown at the French Open, which starts on Sunday.
Djokovic banged down six aces and 34 winners in the contest, which lasted a little over three hours and five minutes, making it the longest clash of this year’s tournament.
Hurkacz had squandered a 4-2 lead in the decider as Djokovic clawed his way back to clinch victory in the tiebreak with an ace and stretched his career win-loss record over the 28-year-old Pole to 8-0.
With the triumph, Djokovic is the first man to win a tour-level title in 20 consecutive seasons, with his first title coming at 2006 Amersfoort. He is also the oldest champion in Geneva Open history.
Djokovic, currently ranked world number six, will face unseeded American Mackenzie McDonald in the opening round at Roland Garros.
Reuters
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Novak Djokovic marked his 38th birthday in style on Thursday, defeating Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 6-4 to reach the Geneva Open semi-finals and continue his pursuit of a 100th career title.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion avenged last month’s Madrid Open loss to the Italian and will next face Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who rallied to defeat Australian Alexei Popyrin 7-6 (8-6) 6-4.
“It’s great to be in the semi-finals again. Hopefully this year I can go at least a step further, that’s the goal,” said Djokovic, who lost to Tomas Machac in last year’s quarter-finals.
“I think I’m playing really good tennis. A straight-sets win, but it was much closer than the score indicates.”
After taking the first set, Djokovic trailed 4-1 in the second but stormed back with five consecutive games to seal the win in one hour and 40 minutes.
The former world No. 1 admitted that smashing his racket in frustration helped him reset mentally and close out the match in straight sets.
“After the racquet breaking I kind of found my optimal state and balance mentally and emotionally to be able to play my best tennis when it was most needed,” Djokovic, who was presented with a birthday cake on court, said.
Djokovic is bidding to become only the third man in history to win 100 ATP titles, after Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103).
-Reuters
The Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA) has filed a lawsuit against the sport’s governing bodies, accusing them of anti-competitive practices and a disregard for player welfare.
The PTPA, an independent players’ union co-founded by Novak Djokovic in 2019, said on March 18 that after years of good-faith efforts to reform professional tennis, it had been forced to take legal action to end “monopolistic control” of the sport.
In a statement, it said that along with more than a dozen players, the PTPA had filed papers in a New York court against the ATP Tour, the WTA Tour, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
“Tennis is broken,” said Ahmad Nassar, executive director of the PTPA.
“Behind the glamorous veneer that the defendants promote, players are trapped in an unfair system that exploits their talent, suppresses their earnings, and jeopardises their health and safety.
“We have exhausted all options for reform through dialogue, and the governing bodies have left us no choice but to seek accountability through the courts. Fixing these systemic failures isn’t about disrupting tennis, it’s about saving it for the generations of players and fans to come.”
In response, the ATP accused the PTPA of choosing “division and distraction” and having no meaningful role in the sport.
“We strongly reject the premise of the PTPA’s claims, believe the case to be entirely without merit, and will vigorously defend our position,” it said in a statement.
“ATP remains committed to working in the best interests of the game – towards continued growth, financial stability, and the best possible future for players, tournaments, and fans.”
The WTA defended its record of growing women’s tennis, describing the lawsuit as “baseless”.
“Every decision taken at the WTA Board level includes the input of players via their elected Board representatives, and athletes receive substantial financial rewards and other benefits from participation in the WTA,” the organisation said.
The ITF, meanwhile, stressed its goal is to ensure the growth of tennis as a global sport.
“As a not-for-profit organisation and global guardian of the game… we reinvest 90 per cent of our income into the global development of the game, via our 213 member National Associations,” an ITF spokesperson said.
Describing the various governing bodies as a “cartel”, the PTPA, which has also begun legal action in Britain and the EU, accuses them of paying “artificially low compensation to professional tennis players” and imposing a “draconian” ranking system that forces them to compete in certain tournaments.
The lawsuit also calls the schedule unsustainable, says players are made to play in extreme heat and often in the early hours of the morning, that tennis balls chosen by the tournaments are a factor in chronic injuries and that players’ privacy rights are being abused by random drug tests.
Prior to filing the lawsuit, the PTPA said it met with more than 250 players across the tours, including the majority of the men’s and women’s top 20.
“The overwhelmingly positive player feedback was a resounding confirmation – change is needed now, and players are united in their fight for reform,” the statement added.
Serbia’s 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic has been a fierce advocate for change to the organisation of tennis, insisting that the revenues generated by the sport are not fairly shared out to players.
“Women and men who are around 200 and lower ranked in the world, they are struggling a lot,” he said in a CBS 60 Minutes interview in 2023.
“They can’t afford a coach, they can’t afford travels, they skip tournaments, many of them leave tennis who are super talented and maybe capable of reaching great heights.”
The ITIA, which manages the sport’s anti-doping and anti-corruption programmes, responded to the lawsuit by saying: “Any credible international sport requires robust anti-doping and anti-corruption programmes, and we are proud of our role in contributing to a clean and fair sport.”
-Reuters
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