ROME – The most recent duel between world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka was hardly a fight.
Swiatek controlled from the start to win the Italian Open final 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday to lift her third clay-court trophy in Rome and make it clear she is the favorite to win the French Open again.
Roland Garros starts next weekend and Swiatek is seeking her third consecutive title in Paris and fourth overall.
After congratulating Swiatek at the trophy ceremony, Sabalenka told her opponent, “I hope to reach the Roland Garros final and I’ll catch you there.”
She then added, “Just kidding. I’m going to try to do better than today.”
In his message, Swiatek replied, “We’ll see in the Roland Garros final.”
Swiatek extended her winning streak on Tour to 12 duals and became the first woman to complete the Madrid and Rome double since Serena Williams did it in 2013.
The final was the complete opposite of two weeks ago in Madrid when the Pole had to save three match points to beat Sabalenka in a third-set tiebreak.
“After Madrid I knew it would not be easy. Thank you for sharing the court with me and pushing me to be better,” Sabalenka – who did not lose a set in the tournament – told Sabalenka.
On this occasion, Swiatek pushed from the start and Sabalenka ended up throwing her racquet to the ground in the fourth game before grabbing a new one from her bag.
Even on points where Sabalenka looked in control, Swiatek applied her great footwork and accurate shots to change the momentum and force the Belarusian into errors.
Sabalenka improved at the start of the second set, but Swiatek saved seven break points on first serves.
Swiatek added to her 2021 and 2022 titles and improved her career record in Rome to 20-2. At 22, the Pole is closing in on Chris Evert’s record of five women’s titles in Italy.
Rafael Nadal holds the overall record with 10 trophies in Rome.
The men’s final is on Sunday between 2017 champion Alexander Zverev and Chile’s Nicolas Jarry (24).
Swiatek improved his record against Sabalenka to 8-3 and has won nine straight finals since losing in Madrid to the Belarusian last year.