As expected, Iga Swiatek kicked off her clay-court swing with a title last week in Stuttgart. The world No. 1 dropped one set to Karolina Pliskova along the way, but she otherwise cruised–including over Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
Will Swiatek also dominate at the Mutua Madrid Open? It’s possible but also far from a guarantee. Conditions are quite fast at high altitude, so big hitters like Sabalenka, Pliskova, and Elena Rybakina are set up for success. As for Swiatek, she has only played this tournament once in her career and lost in the third round (2021).
Let’s take a look at the top seed’s primary challengers.
Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka was outmatched in the Stuttgart final, but she will like her chances more in Madrid. As the No. 2 seed, the Belarusian again would not have to face Swiatek until the championship. By then there is at least some chance that someone like Rybakina will have already ousted the Pole. Either way, it’s not like Sabalenka couldn’t accomplish that feat in the final. If there is any clay-court tournament at which Sabalenka could beat Swiatek, it’s Madrid.
Elena Rybakina
Like Sabalenka, Rybakina will love these conditions. Also like Sabalenka, the Kazakh boasts one of the most lethal serves and forehands on tour–and her backhand is pretty darn powerful, too. Rybakina won Wimbledon last summer and her 2023 results include runner-ups at the Australian Open and in Miami plus a title in Indian Wells. Being in Swiatek’s section of the draw is far from ideal, but an upset is certainly well within the realm of possibility.
Jessica Pegula
Clay may not be Pegula’s best surface, but she went all the way to the Madrid final last year. She is also coming off a semifinal showing in Charleston, so her clay-court swing started well. The in-form American has a decent enough draw in Madrid, too, as she would not run into Swiatek until the semis and Sabalenka until the final.
Now I am satisfied with Swiatek’s Tennis. The win over Kudermetova was perfect tennis from Iga. Of course, it will not be so tidy vs.Sabalenka (it was not an easy win over Kudermetova), but it tested Iga in every way. The scoreline is deceiving. 😀
When Kudermetova was asked if she liked playing Iga, the Russian replied it was like playing a guy. Sportskeeda online magazine.
Sounds like a close final this time.Have to give the edge to Iga
Hope Iga has solved “the problem of” Sabalanka! Would be a good boost before RG
What problem would that be? 3-0 on clay .
Didn’t you say Madrid conditions would favour big servers? Last time Sabs beat Iga, was big serve that done it.
Yeah, but that was hard court.
fabulous match, especially the last two games of the third set, Sabs was the better player, at times she was unplayable. Greg R quite critical of Iga’s serve and very interesting on the technicality
Yeah Greg was interesting about serve. They all commented on how laboured and predictable it was.
All.say Iga still fave at Rome and Rg where surface is slower. But Iga seemed to lose it mentally at times which I thought was a bit worrying.
What was that jibe she made in her speech about playing at 1 am? Very unusual for a player to say sth like that and I wondered if she was implying it had affected her play in the final. Was the sf played so late? I didn’t watch it.
Saba was the better player…But able to hit through the court in a way she won’t be able to at Rg.
I did not watch it, and I peeked in on the score early in the match, and that was enough. I am not at all interested in watching Iga vs. Sabalenka.
However, I did look in on the WTA bracket.
Congrats to Big Al!
Congrats to all Sabalenka fans.
The ATP final is not until Sunday.
Have a good evening/night and good luck making the picks for Rome 😀