Ominous Iga Swiatek, stuttering Stefanos Tsitsipas, Zhang Zhizhen fairytale over - 3 takeaways from Madrid Open

All hail the Clay Queen Another WTA tournament on the red dirt, another final for Clay Queen Iga Swiatek. Ad The World No.

1’s solid form this year (25-4) has perhaps been under appreciated given that it hasn’t quite been of the sizzling level which saw her embark upon a 37-match win streak that secured six straight WTA titles in 2022, including a second Roland Garros crown. WTA MadridSwiatek hammers Kudermetova and is 'pumped up' for Sabalenka final showdown2 HOURS AGO The 21-year-old Pole has failed to defend her titles in Qatar and Indian Wells — and she was absent from Miami — which has led some tennis observers to claim she looks more fallible this season, but you’d be foolish to look beyond her during the European clay swing.

She may not have hit such halcyon heights just yet but the signs are looking ominous on the dirt as she has followed up her win over World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA 500 in Stuttgart with another relentlessly tough-to-beat push in Madrid.

Indeed, Swiatek's 6-1 6-1 rout of Veronika Kudermetova in the semis means she has won 27 clay-court matches and notched up four titles on the surface since the start of last year and she appears to be in ‘Pole’ position to add more silverware to that tally in the months ahead, with a third straight title in Rome and a third Roland Garros crown firmly on her radar. This is just her second trip to the Spanish capital with her first ending in a third-round exit to Ana Konjuh in 2021, which may one day have shock value in a similar context to Robin Soderling v Rafael Nadal at the 2009 French Open, such is her calibre on clay.