New York is not a natural habitat for Iga Swiatek. The hustle and bustle of a city that never sleeps is a world away from the order and serenity the Polish world No 1 so prizes in her professional life. As for the tennis balls, don’t even get her started.
Swiatek does love a final, though, no matter where it is played. Her record in them reads like an urban legend concocted to strike fear into the collective heart of the locker room. That record is no myth, however, and after defeating Ons Jabeur 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) to win the US Open, the third grand slam title of her career and her first beyond the clay courts of Roland Garros, the daunting reality for those who would usurp her is that the 21-year-old has now won each of her past 10 finals in straight sets.
That Swiatek extended that remarkable run at Flushing Meadows, where she arrived a fortnight ago complaining that the balls used in the women’s event were too light to control, and where she had never previously advanced beyond the fourth round, will only strengthen her burgeoning reputation as the dominant force of her generation, a player that none of her peers will wish to see across the net come finals day.
Having won her second French Open title only three months ago, Swiatek becomes the first woman to win more than one slam in a year since Angelique Kerber in 2016, and the first to complete the Paris-New York double since Serena Williams in 2013.
“This tournament was really challenging, because it’s New York, it’s so loud, it’s so crazy,” said Swiatek during the trophy presentation. “There were so many temptations in the city, so many people I’ve met who are so inspiring for me. It’s really mind-blowing for me, and I am so proud I could handle it mentally.”
For Jabeur, defeat in a second successive major final was crushing. After the disappointment of losing at Wimbledon, where she was slowly consumed by her own intensity as she slipped to defeat against Elena Rybakina, she had been determined to make amends in New York, determined to realise the dreams of a people and a continent by becoming the first Arab and African woman to win the US Open. Such are the expectations that follow Jabeur wherever she goes. She carries them lightly, but it is a formidable burden to bear. No wonder she has sported a T-shirt bearing the legend “Face your fears” these past two weeks.
Jabeur knew what she up against – “Iga never loses finals, so it’s going to be very tough,” she said beforehand – but forewarned was not forearmed. A combination of her own understandable nerves and Swiatek’s early excellence saw to that. The Pole opened with an ominously comfortable hold. Then the onslaught commenced.
Jabeur’s opening service game set the tone. First she was late to a lunging return from Swiatek. Then she double-faulted. Swiatek forced an error with a sweeping crosscourt forehand, then pounced on a return. The match was barely even five minutes old, and already the Tunisian had been broken to love.
This is what Swiatek does in finals. She constricts, she controls, she dominates; she comes in with a plan and executes it with laser-like focus and unshakeable conviction. Here, she struck lines with unerring regularity and even drew first blood in the battle of the hand skills, flicking a majestic backhand half-volley beyond the startled Jabeur.
“She came off really strong and put a lot of pressure on me,” said Jabeur. “That didn’t help. I was trying to get in the match. It was very tough. She was playing really good… hitting lines a lot of times, kind of annoying from her.”
Jabeur’s response was to turn up the heat, drilling four immense winners to get back on terms. Yet she struggled throughout on serve, a shot that has been the mainstay of her game over the fortnight, and the predictability of her placement, combined with her inability to put the first ball in play, cost her dear. The Tunisian was immediately broken again, and her first-set race was as good as run.
The second set was a far closer affair, Jabeur gamely reeling in a 3-0 deficit and forcing Swiatek to make ever more frequent recourse to her remarkable defensive skills. Jabeur missed three break points in the ninth game and saved a match point in the 12th when Swiatek, bizarrely, opted to switch rackets only to send a backhand long. But the Pole held firm in the ensuing tiebreak to claim a famous victory and put the troubled weeks that followed her defeat to Alizé Cornet at Wimbledon, which ended a 37-match winning streak, well and truly behind her.
“It’s something that I wasn’t expecting for sure,” said Swiatek. “It’s also like a confirmation for me that the sky is the limit.”