Sabalenka wins Madrid Open

Aryna Sabalenka won the women’s title in the Madrid Open tennis tournament after a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Iga Swiatek in the final. The No. 2 seed defeated top-seeded Swiatek in a match that lasted two hours and 26 minutes. Sabalenka was slightly more effective with her serve in a first set that was a lot closer than the 6-3 appeared, with the games going with serve until the Belarussian broke Swiatek in the eighth game and then held hers to take the set. Swiatek of Poland returned the favor in the second set, to take the match to a decisive third set, where Sabalenka held her serve, broke Swiatek and then held again to race into a 3-0 lead. Swiatek then broke back in a thrilling match and fought back to 3-3 before her rival took another advantage in the eighth game to move 5-3 up and then won the match after a marathon final game. “I am very happy with the win, especially against Iga on clay. Games against her are always different and I am really happy,” said Sabalenka, after claiming her second title in Madrid.