Reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka and world No 1 Iga Swiatek will face off again at the Mutua Madrid Open in a repeat of last year’s final.
World No 1 Swiatek needed just 71 minutes to reach her third final of the year and move one step closer to her third WTA 1000 title of the year in a one-sided semi-final, cruising to a 6-1 6-3 victory.
The Pole finished runner-up to Sabalenka at Madrid last year and will now meet the Belarusian in a rematch after the second seed overcame former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in a final-set thriller.
Swiatek broke serve in the second game of the match and, after saving two break points for a 4-1 lead, never looked in danger of relinquishing the upper hand against her big-hitting opponent.
“(I feel) really good,” Swiatek said in a courtside interview broadcast on Sky Sports Tennis. “I wasn’t really thinking about what happened last year, but for sure repeating this great result is a great thing and I’m going to have a chance to play a nice match in two days, so it’s really exciting and I’m happy overall with the whole tournament.”
Tale of the Tape
‘Swiatek played with huge amount of confidence’
“As expected Iga Swiatek got off to a fast start and never looked back,” Anne Keothavong said on Sky Sports Tennis.
“She was the better player in every department. Just had too much for Madison Keys, who did her best to try and live with her in some of her exchanges and there were some moments where you thought she’s going to blast her way past Iga but she just wasn’t able to produce that kind of tennis consistently.”
Sky Sports Tennis pundit Colin Fleming added: “Iga Swiatek is the ultimate test on clay in the women’s game right now. Keys’ good stuff was good enough but it was just few and far between. She had three break points in the match but couldn’t quite take them but there’s no shame in that. Swiatek is so relentless on this surface.”
Sabalenka closes on Madrid repeat
Sabalenka needed more than two hours to overcome Rybakina and continue the defence of her title, rallying from a set down to win 1-6 7-5 7-6 (5) and book her place in Saturday’s final.
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Aryna Sabalenka discusses her victory over Elena Rybakina and what it means to book a spot in the Madrid Open final against Iga Swiatek
It will also be the first meeting of 2024 between Swiatek and Sabalenka, who prevailed 6-3 3-6 6-3 in last year’s final, and 10th in their careers.
“I’m happy that we can play a final against the top players,” Swiatek said on Thursday before knowing her final opponent. “It shows consistency. For sure it’s going to be a challenge, whoever it’s going to be. I will be ready. I will focus on myself.”
Rybakina twice broke Sabalenka in the first set and cruised to an easy 6-1 margin. Sabalenka then found herself down 3-1 and 4-2 in the second set, only to win five of her next six games to level the contest.
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Highlights of Elena Rybakina against Aryana Sabalenka from the Madrid Open semi-finals
Both players held serve throughout the third set, but Sabalenka, the back-to-back Australian Open champion, raced ahead 5-1 in the tie-breaker before winning on her third match point.
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?
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Find out all the ways to watch tennis on Sky Sports, including the US Open, ATP and WTA tours
In the run-up to the second Grand Slam of 2024 – the French Open at Roland Garros from May 26 – you can watch all of the biggest tennis stars in action live on Sky Sports as they compete across the clay-court season.
- Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (ATP and WTA Masters 1000) – May 7-19
- Geneva Open (ATP 250) – May 20-26
- Lyon Open (ATP 250) – May 20-26
- Internationaux de Strasbourg (WTA 500 with Emma Raducanu in action) – May 20-26
- Morocco Open (WTA 250) – May 20-26
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