The second edition of the WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia started with the familiar sight of Iga Swiatek brutally destroying one of the best players in the world. The six-time Grand Slam champion defeated Madison Keys 6-1, 6-2 in their first match of the group stage.
Swiatek had struggled in recent tournaments and fatigue seemed to be setting in at the end of an exhausting 10-month season. However, the Pole had three weeks to regroup after her 6-1, 6-2 defeat to Jasmine Paolini in the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open. She looked fresh and committed from the start and confirmed her status as one of the favorites alongside world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, serving extremely well and putting Keys under relentless pressure from both wings with her weight of shot and defense, while making few mistakes.
Short manualSinner passes Zverev to reach the Paris final against Auger-Aliassime
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World No. 2 Jannik Sinner played like this in France on Saturday, edging past German Alexander Zverev 6-0, 6-1 to advance to the final of the Rolex Paris Masters. The Italian scored eight aces and had 90% (19 out of 21) on the first serve. He added 6 out of 9 break point conversions and won 54 out of 80 (68%) points overall.
This is Sinner’s first final reached at the Paris Masters. “I’m happy to be in the final, but it’s not how you want to arrive,” Sinner said.
Zverev offered little resistance after his drawn-out 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Daniil Medvedev on Friday night, showing signs of fatigue early and often.
The German finally got his first game to start the second set, but any hopes of a rally were quickly dashed. Sinner played six straight winning games to close out the second set and win.
Sinner, who hit 23 winners, felt his opponent was clearly not at his best
“Playing against Sascha is always a special occasion, and today he was clearly not 100 percent, we saw that,” said Sinner. “He was struggling physically. He won an incredible match yesterday.”
Sinner advances to face ATP No. 10 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final. The Canadian cut slightly more than Sinner, but eventually moved into the winners column with a 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik.
Auger-Aliassime had 12 aces compared to Bublik’s five, making a total of 26 winners.
“He’s playing fantastic tennis at the moment, he’s improved a lot,” Sinner said. “Especially in recent months, he has found his game again. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, it’s a great opportunity for both of us. I’m very happy for Felix, he’s one of the nicest guys we have on Tour. It’s going to be a very difficult match.”
It will be a chance for Sinner to catch rival Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP rankings and regain the No. 1 ranking. Sinner is 100 points behind.
Sinner and Auger-Aliassime are 2-2 against each other, with Sinner having won the last two matches at the US Open and in Cincinnati earlier this year. Reuters
However, this one-sided result also said a lot about Keys’ lack of preparation for a tournament that consisted of the eight best in the world, without the opportunity to start quietly in the first rounds and gradually regain rhythm, as is the case in most regular Keys seasons had started with an incredible victory over Swiatek in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, where she saved a match point on the way to her long-awaited first grand slam title. The American then struggled to find her best form and then suffered a wrist injury that forced her off the tour since losing in the opening round of the US Open.
The 30-year-old couldn’t have asked for a stronger opponent on her return. Constantly forced into difficult positions on the pitch with no time on the ball, Keys freely sprayed fouls as she tried to wrestle control of the points. Despite her tremendous serve, she held out twice. Keys finished the match with eight winners, compared to 38 unforced errors.
This staging marks the second year of the Women’s Tennis Association’s three-year deal in Saudi Arabia and Swiatek should feel comforted by the lack of drama surrounding her this time around. Her only WTA Finals title run came in Cancun two years ago, a tournament held during hurricane season in poor weather conditions and at a time when the event moved between countries every year.
Last year, Swiatek lost in the group stage weeks after being told she had tested positive for the banned substance trimetazidine. She was cleared of any willful misconduct after proving her melatonin medication was contaminated.
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Now she has the advantage of simply being able to concentrate on her tennis. While the WTA has tried to divert attention to its hopes of highlighting women’s issues in Saudi Arabia, as is the case with all sporting events held there, the financial incentives are the most pressing reason for its presence. Swiatek and her rivals will be richly rewarded for their efforts.
Short manualSinner passes Zverev to reach the Paris final against Auger-Aliassime
Show
World No. 2 Jannik Sinner played like this in France on Saturday, edging past German Alexander Zverev 6-0, 6-1 to advance to the final of the Rolex Paris Masters. The Italian scored eight aces and had 90% (19 out of 21) on the first serve. He added 6 out of 9 break point conversions and won 54 out of 80 (68%) points overall.
This is Sinner’s first final reached at the Paris Masters. “I’m happy to be in the final, but it’s not how you want to arrive,” Sinner said.
Zverev offered little resistance after his drawn-out 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Daniil Medvedev on Friday night, showing signs of fatigue early and often.
The German finally got his first game to start the second set, but any hopes of a rally were quickly dashed. Sinner played six straight winning games to close out the second set and win.
Sinner, who hit 23 winners, felt his opponent was clearly not at his best
“Playing against Sascha is always a special occasion, and today he was clearly not 100 percent, we saw that,” said Sinner. “He was struggling physically. He won an incredible match yesterday.”
Sinner advances to face ATP No. 10 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final. The Canadian cut slightly more than Sinner, but eventually moved into the winners column with a 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik.
Auger-Aliassime had 12 aces compared to Bublik’s five, making a total of 26 winners.
“He’s playing fantastic tennis at the moment, he’s improved a lot,” Sinner said. “Especially in recent months, he has found his game again. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, it’s a great opportunity for both of us. I’m very happy for Felix, he’s one of the nicest guys we have on Tour. It’s going to be a very difficult match.”
It will be a chance for Sinner to catch rival Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP rankings and regain the No. 1 ranking. Sinner is 100 points behind.
Sinner and Auger-Aliassime are 2-2 against each other, with Sinner having won the last two matches at the US Open and in Cincinnati earlier this year. Reuters
An undefeated champion would walk away with $5.235 million (£3.98 million), the highest prize money in the history of women’s sport and second only to the $6 million Jannik Sinner received last month as the winner of the Six Kings Slam event.
After earning $42,945,490 at just 24 years old, Swiatek recently surpassed Venus Williams as the second-highest prize money earner in women’s tennis, trailing only Serena Williams. Based on these achievements, the numbers in her bank account will only continue to rise.
Later on Saturday, Elena Rybakina continued her excellent form by edging past fourth seed Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-1. Rybakina, the sixth seed, was among the final group of players to qualify for Riyadh, winning in Ningbo, China, last month. She backed up her imperious serving performance with controlled, brutal shots to clear her first hurdle with ease.
The victorious Swiatek and Rybakina will resume their rivalry in the second set of matches in the Serena Williams group on Monday, while Anisimova will play Keys in a must-win match for both. On Sunday, Stefanie Graf’s group starts with Sabalenka facing Paolini and Coco Gauff who opens her title defense against her American compatriot Jessica Pegula.
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