Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek has booked her eighth tournament win of this year in San Diego. The world number 1 defeated Croatian qualifier Donna Vekic in the final on the American hard court in three sets: 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. As a reward, Swiatek received not only a glass trophy, but also a surfboard.
“I love San Diego, tomorrow I’m going to enjoy the beach here,” said the 21-year-old Polish, who already showed some of her surfing skills during the award ceremony. Swiatek recorded her 64th victory of this year against Vekic. She only lost eight games. Swiatek won Roland Garros and the US Open, among others. She will go to the WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas at the end of this month as the big favorite.
On American soil, the world leader has won 24 matches this year and lost only once. Of the nine WTA finals Swiatek played this season, she won eight. Only a week ago in Ostrava, she stepped down as a loser. Swiatek then lost to Barbora Krejcikova from the Czech Republic.
Vekic had to finish her semifinal against American Danielle Collins on Sunday. That match was halted on Saturday with a 4-2 lead for Collins in the third set due to rain. The 26-year-old Vekic immediately broke back after the resumption and took the win in the tiebreak: 6-4 4-6 7-6 (2). Thanks to her performance in San Diego, the Croatian rose from 77th to 47th place in the world ranking.
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