The Polish Iga Swiatekwhich will be number one in the world ranking as of Monday, this Saturday overwhelmed the Japanese Naomi Osaka 6-4 and 6-0 and conquered the first title of the Masters 1000 of Miami of his career.
Swiatek, twenty years old, became the first player capable of winning the first three WTA 1,000 tournaments of the yearadding Miami’s win to two weeks ago in Indian Wells and Doha.
The Polish player, who sports a streak of 17 consecutive victories in this 2022avenged the loss he had suffered in 2019 against Osaka in Toronto and triumphed at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium in one hour and 19 minutes.
From the Doha desert to the Indian Wells desert to the humid heat of Miami, Swiatek confirmed an excellent level of tennis that launched him in the history of women’s tennisjoining the American Steffi Graf, the Belgian Kim Clijsters and the Belarusian Viktoria Azarenka, capable of sealing this Indian Wells-Miami double to open a season.
The Polish player, who five years ago was out of the top 650 tennis players in the world, adds twenty consecutive sets in favor and frustrated an Osaka that reached its first final in thirteen monthsafter experiencing very complicated moments on a psychological level.
Osaka arrived in Miami after saying goodbye in the second round in Indian Wells, leaving the track in tears after being insulted by a fan. Her tournament in Florida relaunched her and showed that, when she is serene, she can take on the greatest players in the world.
But this Saturday the Japanese ran into a Swiatek who wasn’t about to lose the opportunity to enter history.
He wasted two break balls in the very long first game, but converted his fourth down in game fivewhich opened the way for him to win the first set 6-4.
It was the most complicated part of the job, because he freed her from the pressure and charged his rival with tensionalready on the ropes and forced to react immediately.
And Swiatek gave his rival no choice, take the serve three times out of three and by sentencing his victory in a second set that lasted just 27 minutes after more than fifty in the first.
The Polish closed the duel with the serve and exchanged a heartfelt hug with her rivalbefore running to his coaching staff to celebrate yet another win in a season that has been so far unforgettable.
starting this monday will debut as the first player in the worldafter the withdrawal of the Australian Ashley Barty.
It is the fourth WTA 1,000 title for Swiatek, who will turn 21 in May. She is one of the three players capable of placing more than a 1,000 title in her showcases before turning 21together with the Danish Caroline Wozniacki and the Canadian Bianca Andreescu.