Swiatek beats Jabeur for first US Open title

NEW YORK (AP):

GOOD AS she’s been this year, Iga Swiatek came to the US Open unsure of what to expect.

She complained that women use different, slightly lighter, tennis balls than the men do at Flushing Meadows, where she’d never been past the fourth round. She was trying to grow accustomed to the noise and distractions, the hustle and bustle, of the Big Apple. And she arrived with a record of just 4-4 since her 37-match winning streak ended in July.

None of that matters now. Cementing her status as her sport’s new dominant figure by winning what is expected to be the last tournament of Serena Williams’ career, the No. 1-ranked Swiatek outplayed No. 5 Ons Jabeur 6-2, 7-6 (5) in Arthur Ashe Stadium yesterday to claim her first championship at the US Open and third Grand Slam title overall.

“Just not expecting a lot, especially before this tournament. It was such a challenging time, you know?” said Swiatek, who is 55-7 in tour-level matches with seven trophies in 2022, both best in the WTA.

“For sure, this tournament was really challenging, also, because it’s New York. It’s so loud. It’s so crazy,” she said. “I’m really proud that I could handle it mentally.”

The 21-year-old from Poland won the French Open for the second time in June and is the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to collect two major titles in a single season.

NOT AN EASY ONE

“I really tried, but Iga didn’t make it easy for me. She deserved to win today,” said Jabeur, a 28-year-old from Tunisia who will rise to No. 2 in the rankings tomorrow.

Smiling while looking at Swiatek, Jabeur told a crowd that offered her plenty of support: “I don’t like her very much right now, but it’s OK.”

Jabeur is the first African woman and first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final and was participating in her second in a row. But she is 0-2 at that stage, being the runner-up at Wimbledon in July.

“I know I’m going to keep working hard, and I know we’ll get that title someday soon,” Jabeur said to her fans and her support team, who wore black shirts with white writing that read “Yalla Habibi,” Arabic for “Let’s go, my love!”

Didn’t help on this sunny, 85-degree Fahrenheit (29.4 Celsius) afternoon that Jabeur needed to deal with Swiatek, whose all-around excellence is only amplified when a trophy is available. Swiatek has won her past 10 finals — all in straight sets — and was great from the get-go.