Iga Swiatek claims second grand slam title of the season with US Open victory

Iga Swiatek rubber-stamped her position at the top of the women’s game with a second grand slam title of the season at the US Open.

The 21-year-old defeated Ons Jabeur 6-2 7-6 (5) in an hour and 50 minutes at Flushing Meadows to add her first hard-court major trophy to her two French Open successes.

Jabeur, playing in her second consecutive slam final after losing to Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon, threatened a comeback in the second set but Swiatek held firm to clinch it in a tie-break.

Welcome to the club, @iga_swiatek! pic.twitter.com/2Bflx9QN9Q

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 10, 2022

Her second victory at Roland Garros in June was part of a 37-match unbeaten run and it is fitting that, in the tournament where Serena Williams bowed out, Swiatek becomes the first woman since the American in 2014 to claim seven titles in a season.

She is a very different character to Williams and has an understated presence on court but possesses an inner belief that has now carried her to straight-sets victories in her last 10 finals.

Jabeur went into the match full of confidence after a straightforward semi-final against Caroline Garcia and believing she had learned from her Wimbledon defeat.

Bidding to become the first African and Arab woman to win a grand slam title, Jabeur leads the tour in terms of match wins since the start of 2021 – now one ahead of Swiatek – and will rise to world number two on Monday.

But she had lost her only previous match this year to Swiatek 6-2 6-2 in the final in Rome in the spring and made a very nervous start.

Continuing where she left off in finals