Sky's the limit for prolific Swiatek

NEW YORK - Doha. Indian Wells. Miami. Stuttgart. Rome. Paris.

Iga Swiatek has won titles in all those cities in 2022, and it came as no surprise to anyone, not even the emotional Pole, that she added New York to the long list on Saturday.

Her 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) victory over Ons Jabeur in the US Open women's singles final was a reminder of what makes Swiatek such a force.

The world No. 1 has phenomenal defence and slides into the corners, often out of the near-splits popularised by Kim Clijsters and Novak Djokovic.

Swiatek has penetration off the ground, above all, the topspin forehand like her role model Rafael Nadal.

That, married with her big-match mental strength, allows her to find and maintain her focus under duress with the help of her long-time performance psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, has meant she is now 10-1 in WTA Tour-level singles finals.

That package of skills, both innate and acquired, has created a genuine champion, and what should be genuinely scary to the opposition is that she can still improve her serve, transition game and volleys by big margins.

At just 21 years old, Swiatek is a bona fide No. 1 with a huge lead in the rankings over Jabeur, who will be back at No. 2 on Monday.

Swiatek will have 10,365 points to the 5,090 points of the beaten finalist at both Wimbledon and New York.

It is the kind of clear separation that greats Serena Williams and Steffi Graf have created in the past, with Williams, in 2014, being the last woman to win seven or more singles titles in a season. She also triumphed in seven tournaments.

After winning the French Open in surprising fashion in 2020 and then solidifying her spot in the top 10, Swiatek has taken flight in earnest in 2022, reeling off 37 straight victories earlier this season, often by lopsided margins.

During her record run - the longest by a WTA player this century - she won for the second time at Roland Garros.

With three Majors, she is now closing in on Naomi Osaka, the former world No. 1 who has two US Opens and two Australian Opens, as the most accomplished Slam champion of their generation.

But Swiatek, who is three years younger than the Japanese, already has one significant performance edge.

While Osaka has never won a tour-level title on clay or grass, Swiatek is a multi-surface threat.

Of her seven titles this season, three have come on her long-favoured red clay, but the other four have come on hard courts like those used at the US Open.

Even the lighter balls - which Swiatek was vocal about in her objections - used on the North American swing, including at Flushing Meadows, failed to dampen her prowess as a heavy-hitter here.

"I wasn't sure if I was on the level yet to win actually a Grand Slam, especially on US Open where the surface is so fast," she said after picking up the champions' cheque of US$2.6 million (S$3.64 million), before joking that she was relieved it was not in cash. "It's something that I wasn't expecting. It's also like a confirmation for me that the sky is the limit."

The ceiling should include Wimbledon. Although Swiatek has yet to get past the fourth round on grass at the All England Club, she did win the junior title there in 2018, and has the tool set and improvisational athleticism to win the main event there down the road.

For now, she will allow herself a cheat meal and rub shoulders with celebrities before gearing up for the season-ending WTA Finals in Fort Worth, Texas in October.

After thanking US Open organisers for hiding a piece of tiramisu - one of her favourite treats - inside the trophy, Swiatek said of her growing fan base: "I met (British singer) Seal, I was like, 'Even if I'm going to lose right now, I already won this tournament, because I got (a) photo with him.'

"It's something that is only going to happen probably in New York - because it's New York."

NYTIMES, REUTERS