In a one-sided final on Sunday, the young Pole prevailed 6-2, 6-2 against world number four Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus. As the successor to last year’s winner Ashleigh Barty, Swiatek received prize money of 93,823 euros and a sports car. She has now won 23 matches in a row. That also gave her confidence against Sabalenka.
Fast leadership
With her aggressive style of play and thanks to a strong performance, she earned victory in front of around 4,300 spectators in the not entirely sold-out hall at her Stuttgart debut. Over the past few days, Swiatek had become increasingly used to the particularly slippery sand in the Porsche Arena. In the final, the 2020 French Open winner was more dominant than in the two previous rounds. She quickly led 3-0 and, thanks to two breaks, deservedly secured the first set. With last year’s finalist Sabalenka, known for her tendency to take risks, the error rate was too high. She also couldn’t rely on her serve that much. Swiatek sealed himself off with a towel at 3: 2 in the second set. Then, after a more balanced start to the second half, she managed the crucial break and didn’t give up a game.
A German player won a long time ago
In October 2020, Swiatek stunned the tennis world with her fairytale French Open victory and rose rapidly. This season she has already won in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami. At the beginning of April, she took over the top position from Barty, who had resigned. With the tournament winners Julia Görges (2011), Angelique Kerber (2015, 2016) and Laura Siegemund (2017), German successes had spoiled the event in recent history. The last celebration of a German player on the final Sunday was five years ago, the prospects are moderate. It sounds more likely that Angelique Kerber will end her career in the coming months than that she will cause a sensation here in Stuttgart again. Laura Siegemund is good for a surprise on sand, but also already 34. After Kerber’s exit in the first round, the Swabian was the only German quarter-finalist this time. “For every tournament it makes a difference whether you have a local hero or not, we don’t have to lie to each other,” said tournament director Markus Günthardt when asked what Kerber’s retirement would mean for the Porsche Grand Prix.
Lack of offspring
Anke Huber also knows that there will be a gap over several years. “The fact that they were really able to show that they can keep up with the top 50 players is a bit reassuring that there might not be such a long gap,” said the sporting director: “The fact that we are in the we might be able to look forward to seeing someone again in the next few years.” Eva Lys (20) shone in her WTA debut with her refreshing appearance and first win. Wild card holder Jule Niemeier (22) and qualifier Nastasja Schunk (18) were eliminated despite decent performances in the first round of the tournament, which featured seven top ten players. At the tournament in Madrid starting at the end of the week, Kerber will launch a new attack for the hoped-for turnaround in their messed-up season so far.
Source: SWR