World number one, Iga Swiatek, won her first US Open tennis title, the third major title of her career, beating Tunisian Ons Jabeur (5e), Saturday, September 10, in New York.
The 21-year-old Polish, winner of Roland-Garros in 2020 and in June this year, is accentuating her dominance this season on the women’s circuit, which has notably seen her win 37 victories and six titles in a row in the first half. She succeeds the New York winners of the Briton Emma Raducanu, who created the sensation in 2021, by winning after leaving the qualifications.
Faced with Jabeur, who was playing her second consecutive Major final after the one lost two months ago at Wimbledon, she held her rank as favorite. Aggressive and sharp, Swiatek quickly chained the winning shots, overtaking her rival, who appeared tense on the Arthur-Ashe court. The Pole broke her from the start, then two more times in this one-way first set, at the end of which she passed 90% of the first ball and attacked the net with great success (eight points scored out of 9 climbs ).
Jabeur betrayed by her first ball
Ons Jabeur, who had managed to unbreak to respond to the loss of his first game of service by releasing beautiful uncrossed forehands, could not confirm this burst on his following engagements. She was notably betrayed by her first ball, yet one of her strengths.
At the start of the second set, Swiatek came back strong, with effective placed attacks, breaking away 3-0. An advantage that Jabeur immediately set about erasing, finally dropping his shots. Debreak followed by another because the Pole again took her service behind, after exchanges showing that a completely different match was then being played.
The ninth game was a turning point, during which Jabeur cornered Swiatek, who owed his salvation only to the unforced errors of the Tunisian. The latter thus wasted three break points and blamed herself for it by shouting her frustration.
But, pushed by his supporters displaying t-shirts “yalla habibi! » (come on honey!), she sighed in relief at 6-5 against her when her rival missed a match point. A short reprieve since in the tie-break, Swiatek did not miss the opportunity to end on his second decisive opportunity in 1:51.
Third Grand Slam title
In New York, the world number one showed that she was not just a clay court player. Her victory on the cement of Flushing Meadows where she had, until this fourth participation, never passed the stage of the round of 16, demonstrates her dazzling progress, already glimpsed at the very beginning of the year at the Australian Open. where she had reached the semi-finals.
This success comes to crown a formidable season: between February 20 and June 22, she chained six titles in a row in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome then Roland-Garros.
This momentum had been stopped on the 3e round of Wimbledon by the Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet, before a difficult start to the American summer, with early eliminations in Toronto then Cincinnati. Two disappointments that this third Grand Slam title will allow him to forget.
