Toronto šC Iga Swiatek captured ?her first title of the season with a swift 6-2, 6-3 win against Elena Rybakina in the Canadian Open final on Thursday, giving the Pole a confidence boost heading into the U.S. Open.
It was Swiatek¡¯s first final at the U.S. Open tune-up event, and the six-time?Grand Slam ?champion enjoyed the Toronto crowd chanting ¡°Iga! Iga!¡± throughout the match on her way ?to victory, ?with a few Polish flags in the crowd.
But Swiatek told Canadian ?network Sportsnet that she felt angry after the win, having faced criticism from media back home amid an inconsistent season that has seen her fail to advance beyond the quaterfinals ?at a Grand Slam and replace her coach.
¡°I think that¡¯s the first time in my life I ?have something like that after a victory, but it hasn¡¯t been easy you know,¡± said Swiatek. ¡°I¡¯m happy that I kept my composure, kept my focus, ?and I keep growing every month no ?matter what the challenges, and I¡¯m super proud I could win this one.¡±
The Pole was sharp and fast on the hard ?court in Toronto while ?Kazakhstan¡¯s Rybakina was her own enemy for much of the ?evening.
Rybakina, the world No. 2, was broken twice in an opening set that ?also saw ?Swiatek save two break points to take command of the match. The first set was marred by 12 unforced errors for 27-year-old Rybakina, who struggled to strike the ball cleanly.
The Australian Open champion could not weaponize her serve either, with just ?one ace in the match, and Swiatek broke her again in the second set to take a 3-2 lead.
Swiatek, 25, dropped the next game but closed out the final three with confidence, landing a clean strike on match point to end her title drought.
¡°If she plays her best game ?she¡¯s ?probably better than everyone,¡± Swiatek told reporters of Rybakina after the ?match. ¡°You need to use all the opportunities, you can¡¯t let yourself make mistakes or bad decisions.¡±
Fatigue ?had finally caught up with Rybakina, who played three hours more than Swiatek at the tournament prior to their meeting on Thursday as her previous three matches went to three sets.
¡°I was just very tired,¡°?Rybakina told reporters after the match. ¡°You could see that I wasn¡¯t ?pushing with the legs enough. There was a lot of unforced errors, especially on top of the net. It was just a pure lack of concentration.¡±
With the Canadian title, world No. 8 Swiatek will return to the top five in the rankings.
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