We take the same and start again. Like last year, the final of the WTA tournament in Madrid will pit the two bosses of the women’s circuit this Saturday: Iga Swiatek, world number one, and her runner-up Aryna Sabalenka. Last year, the latter won at the end of a hard-fought match (6-3, 3-6, 6-3) to lift their second trophy in the Spanish capital. A city where the native of Minsk obviously feels very good, since she won her only two titles there on clay.
To reach the final, Sabalenka, victorious in the first Grand Slam of the season at the Australian Open in January, went through a journey strewn with pitfalls. In her five matches, the 25-year-old right-hander won four in three sets, including an epic semi-final against Elena Rybakina on Thursday evening (1-6, 7-5, 7-6 [5]).
Swiatek took a walk
On the other side of the net, we cannot say that Iga Swiatek experienced as many difficulties: apart from the first misplaced set in the quarter-finals against Beatriz Haddad Maia (4-6, 6-0, 6-2) , the Pole won all her matches in straight sets, like her semi-final against Madison Keys (6-1, 6-3). A true clay court specialist, with her three titles at Roland-Garros and her two in Rome, the queen of the circuit has, however, never enjoyed success in Madrid, the only big tournament on ocher still escaping her record.
With six victories for three defeats, Swiatek dominates the history of confrontations against her rival and easily won the last one (6-3, 6-2), in the semi-final of the WTA Finals in Cancun, in November 2023.
The final of the WTA 1000 Madrid 2024 tournament between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka will begin this Saturday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m. It will be followed live on BeIn Sports 2.
