Sabalenka on importance of beating Swiatek : “I gotta keep [the rivalry] interesting”

Aryna Sabalenka got the best of Iga Swiatek in straight sets on Sunday at the WTA Cincinnati 1000. She said it was an important win in their rivalry.

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open (Antoine Couvercelle/Panoramic)

Ricky Dimon

August 19, 2024

In her fourth semi-final appearance at the Western & Southern Open, Aryna Sabalenka finally made her way to the championship match for the first time by beating Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday afternoon.

Beyond simply producing her best-ever performance in Cincinnati, it was especially important win for Sabalenka considering who was on the other side of the net. Not only is Swiatek the No 1 player in the world, but she had also been leading the head-to-head series with Sabalenka 8-3.

I gotta get my win so it’s interesting for people to watch us play…. I wanted this win badly.
Aryna Sabalenka

Although 8-3 may not be a huge deficit for most players against an opponent like Swiatek, it was alarming for Sabalenka — given her lofty standards as the world No 3 and two-time Grand Slam champion. She did not want to see her record in the H2H fall to 9-3.

“(It) doesn’t matter against whom you play, you want to get the win — especially when someone leads against you 8-3,” the Belarusian admitted. “You kind of feel like, ‘Okay, I gotta keep it interesting. I gotta get my win so it’s interesting for people to watch us play…. So, yeah, of course I wanted this win badly.”

Also because it was Swiatek whom she was facing, Sabalenka knew the match wasn’t over when she led by a set, 5-1 and 0-40 on the Pole’s serve. Sure enough, Swiatek saved all three match points in that game — and seven more after that. It took the third seed a whopping 10 match points to seal the deal.

“I was kind of like, ‘should I stay positive, or should take it as a red flag?’ You know, I wasn’t sure what should I do, but I was telling myself that that’s why she’s world No 1 — that no matter what the score, she’s gonna keep trying, keep fighting for it. So you have to stay aggressive, you have to dictate the point and you just have to trust yourself.”

That’s what Sabalenka did, and in the end the result was a resounding victory to make the head-to-head series a more competitive 8-4.