NEW YORK -- As good as she's been this year, Iga Swiatek came to the US Open unsure of what to expect.
She complained that women use different, slightly lighter, tennis balls than men do at Flushing Meadows, where she'd never been past the fourth round. She was trying to grow accustomed to the noise and distractions, the hustle and bustle, of the Big Apple. And she arrived with a record of just 4-4 since her 37-match winning streak ended in July.
None of that matters now. Cementing her status as her sport's new dominant figure by winning what is expected to be the last tournament of Serena Williams' career, the No. 1-ranked Swiatek outplayed No. 5 Ons Jabeur6-2, 7-6 (5) in Arthur Ashe Stadium on Saturday to claim her first championship at the US Open and third Grand Slam title overall.
Swiertek, who won seven trophies in tour-level matches in 2022 with a 55-7 record, said: "Of course I didn't expect that. It's also confirmation that the sky is the limit. It's the best in the WTA." said. It's also a little surprising. ”
She admitted to having concerns about the U.S. Open after a few shaky performances in tune-up tournaments on hard courts, where she won her 23-time major championship in 2014. She is the first seeded woman since Williams to win the US Open. "I feel like I'm on the pitch, I can do my job," said Swiertek.
Swiatek, like Jabeur, traveled with a sports psychologist and needed some strength to finish it off. With his score of 6:5 in the second set, Swiatek earned his points for his first championship. Swirtek jogged to the touchline to switch sticks just before Jabbar served. This is an unusual choice at this time.
As the action resumed, Swiatek missed a backhand. Recovering from that can be difficult. In fact, Jabbar took things to the tiebreak and took a 5-4 lead. But Swiatek braced himself and scored his final three points, quickly winning the silver trophy and his $2.6 million winner's check.
The 21-year-old Paul won her second major at the French Open in June and the first since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to win her two major titles in one season. became a woman.
"She really raised the bar very high. It's great for our sport," said the 28-year-old Jabbar from Tunisia, who is set to move up to No. 2 in Monday's ranking.
She is the first African woman and the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final and play in two consecutive tournaments. But she's 0-2 at this point, finishing second at Wimbledon in July.
Mr. Jabbar's support team wore black shirts with white letters that read "Yalla Habibi," which means "Let's go, my lover!" in Arabic.
"I'm sure," she added.
On this sunny afternoon of her 29.4 degrees, Jabeur had to contend with Swiatek. Swiatek has been great from the start, winning all his last 10 finals in straight sets.
Jabbar didn't have a single break point in Thursday's win over Caroline Garcia in the semifinals, but she quickly recovered when Swiatek tied a short-ball crosscourt backhand winner and capped a 15-stroke exchange. was broken into
"It was the only game where I started so well here," said Siwiatek, who had to come back from a set loss in the fourth and quarterfinals.
In the eighth minute against Jabbar, Swirtek scored 12 of her first 14 points to take a 3–0 lead. "It puts a lot of pressure on me," said Jabbar.
Swiatek used a heavy topspin forehand to take the initiative from the baseline early on and set the pace and trajectory for the points. She ran her opponent back and forth and didn't let Jabber use the kind of spins and variations he was accustomed to.
Swiatek was almost able to extend the points when her Jabeur, who moves up to No. 2 in Monday's rankings, showed skill. With strong court coverage backed by a squeaky sneaker soundtrack, she ran darts everywhere and even slipped when she landed on the ball.
Jabbar dropped his racket in desperation when he missed a forehand slice early in the second set. A few points later she threw her racket and lost her balance and fell on her stomach. Running from Swiatek to the next point His backhand his pass made him 2-0 in the set, Swiatek raised his fists and yelled "Come on!"
Then Jabber easily made things interesting.
But only a little. She made it a 4-all, and after landing on her back when an off-balance backhand scored a point in the next game, she stayed there, enjoying the moment, and remained lying on the floor. I pumped my fist.
Jabbar won her chances in that game she broke three. But she couldn't cash there and she missed each groundstroke.
Swiatek said she had to wait 10 minutes from her first match point to her point that ended the contest, but she finished it. Maybe she'll feel more comfortable at the US Open from now on.
