BEIJING – World No. 2 Iga Swiatek eased to a WTA Tour-leading fifth title in 2023 by crushing unseeded Russian Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 6-2 in the China Open final on Sunday, to intensify her battle with Aryna Sabalenka for the year-end No. 1 spot.
The Pole shed tears of joy after her 69-minute masterclass, which left the four-time Grand Slam champion 630 points behind the top-ranked Sabalenka and with a big chance to leapfrog the Belarusian at the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico.
The season finale, where the top eight singles players and doubles teams in the world face off, begins on Oct 29.
“I’m happy that I won because, this is really big for me,” Swiatek said. “Winning this title is something that I never would have thought at the beginning of the tournament about. I’m pretty proud of myself.”
Beijing debutante Swiatek was handed the first break of the clash in the sixth game when Samsonova produced a double fault and the 22-year-old then wrapped up the opening set without committing a single unforced error.
“This is what she’s doing the best because this is the stress that she made to other players, that she doesn’t make unforced errors,” Samsonova said. “Every time you need to do something more. It’s not real what you feel, but she makes you feel like this. This is what I learnt today.”
Swiatek cited her experience and said: “For sure you could feel that we are playing a final because it was a little bit tense. But I’m happy that I kind of adjusted to what Liudmila was playing. I wanted to really be consistent with what I wanted to do no matter how she’s doing.”
Ranked 22nd, Samsonova had racked up a string of impressive victories against higher-ranked players but the result of Sunday’s final rarely looked in doubt.
Swiatek’s superb serve proved to be her biggest ally as she never faced a break point and raced ahead 4-1 in the second set before completing the win with ease for her 16th title overall as Samsonova made another error at the net.
French Open champion Swiatek also became the first player since American Serena Williams to claim five or more titles in successive seasons.
Williams managed the feat in 2014 and 2015.
The match brought to a close the first China Open in four years, after Beijing lifted onerous travel restrictions that formed part of a long-time policy to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
It was also the first time the women’s tournament had taken place since the international governing body announced the end of an embargo imposed on China following sexual assault allegations by former player Peng Shuai.
The WTA had withdrawn from the country after Peng accused a former top Communist Party official of forcing her into sex, but the overlap with Beijing’s zero-Covid strategy meant its ban was largely symbolic.
The men’s tournament wrapped up last Wednesday, when Italy’s Jannik Sinner beat world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev to take the trophy.
The pair had contrasting fortunes at the Shanghai Masters on Sunday. Defending champion Medvedev said missing one key opportunity had cost him a spot in the fourth round after he was knocked out in straight sets by 26th-ranked Sebastian Korda.
The Russian fell apart in the second set after Korda won the first on a tiebreak taken to the brink, with the match finishing 7-6 (10-8), 6-2.
“I should have won the tiebreak but didn’t,” said the Russian.
“I was, for sure, down mentally after such a first set... In the tiebreak, he actually didn’t play that good (compared to the rest of the match). I didn’t use this opportunity and I’m going home.”
Medvedev said Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner, who also beat Alcaraz in Beijing last week, were the top contenders for the title now. The fourth-ranked Italian beat Argentina’s Sebastian Baez 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday. REUTERS, AFP
