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Good as she’s been this year, Iga Swiatek came to the U.S. 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 to claim her first championship at the U.S. 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.
Swiatek, like Jabeur, travels with a sports psychologist, and it took some fortitude to finish this one off. At 6-5 in the second set, Swiatek held her first championship point. Right before Jabeur served, Swiatek jogged over to the sideline to change rackets an unusual choice at that moment.
When action resumed, Swiatek missed a backhand. That could have been tough to recover from. Indeed, Jabeur pushed things to the tiebreaker, which she then led 5-4.
