World No 1 Iga Swiatek cruised past Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 6-4 to win the Stuttgart Open on Sunday in a repeat of last year’s final, to confirm her status as a French Open favourite.
The Pole, back from injury and gearing up for her French Open title defence next month, and world No 2 Sabalenka traded powerful baseline blows before Swiatek earned a second breakpoint at 4-3. She whipped a superb forehand down the line to go 5-3 up before easily holding serve to clinch the first set on her second set point.
Swiatek, fit again following a rib injury that forced her to withdraw before the Miami Open and Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers, after she hurt herself during her run to the Indian Wells semi-finals last month, broke her opponent again in the first game of the second set.
The Belarusian Sabalenka started to pile up unforced errors and struggled with her serve at 2-0 before firing a cross-court forehand to hold. But she could not break Swiatek back and the Pole held serve at 5-4 to seal her second title of the year.
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“I want to thank my team because it has been such an intense time. I am so happy we are making the right decisions,” Swiatek said, following her well-timed return from injury. “It is a pretty exciting time. I will be coming back because I love this tournament.”
While Swiatek won it for a second consecutive time, it was Sabalenka’s third straight loss in the final in Stuttgart.
