World number one Iga Swiatek won her first US Open on Saturday in New York, beating Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur 6-2, 7-6 in the final.
The boss is Iga Swiatek. Untouchable in the final. The Polish woman thus won her tenth consecutive final on the big circuit. She succeeds the New York winners to the Briton Emma Raducanu, who had created the feat in 2021, by winning after leaving the qualifications. Aggressive, Swiatek started with a bang by quickly leading 3-0 against a tense and borrowed opponent. Ons Jabeur managed a break before conceding four consecutive games and losing the first set 6-2. A first set perfectly mastered by the boss of the circuit with 90% of first balls and eight points scored on 9 climbs.
Read alsoUS Open: Stronger than Jabeur, Iga Swiatek wins her third Grand Slam title
In the second set, the Pole led 3-0. The knockout was very close when she got a 4-0 ball. But the Tunisian hung on and picked up at 4-4. Back to the wall, she started to let go of her blows. And Swiatek tensed up. The shadow of a doubt hovered, then on the world number one, even led 15-40 on her serve at 4-4. Jabeur then wasted three break points and blamed himself, shouting his frustration. The balancing duel. The tension being at its maximum at the end of the set. Jabeur erased a match point at 6-5 against her and offered herself a decisive game. She was very close to the third set when she led 5-4 in the tie-break, before cracking by conceding three consecutive points.
For Jabeur, the disappointment is terrible with two finals lost the same year in Grand Slam after Wimbledon. She will be able to console herself by becoming the new runner-up to… Swiatek on Monday. The Pole confirms her clear and flawless domination of women’s tennis. At 21, she now has three Grand Slam titles and is the first player to win two Majors in the same year since Angelique Kerber (Australian Open and US Open in 2016).
In New York, Swiatek won her seventh title this season, between February 20 and June 22, she racked up no less than 37 victories which gave her six titles in a row, in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome then Roland Garros. Her summer had been less brilliant, but she is ending it in style.
