Iga Swiatek and Ons Jabeur entered Arthur Ashe Stadium as the two best players in the world, the ones who have outperformed the rest of the field this year.
Yet by the end of the match, the reality was much simpler. Jabeur gave all she could, she forced her way back into the match from the verge of a crushing defeat, but Swiatek remains the singular dominant force in the sport.
After navigating her various struggles through the summer and the tournament, the 21-year-old played with total freedom with the title on the line and then held off an incredible late surge from Jabeur, holding on to win the US Open for the first time in her career with a tense, quality, 6-2, 7-6 (5) win.
With her victory, Swiatek has become the first woman to win two grand slam titles in a year since Angelique Kerber in 2016, after winning the French Open earlier in the season.