Tennis Tournament: Iga Swiatek of Poland continued her incredible run in the Miami Open final on Saturday, defeating Naomi Osaka of Japan 6-4, 6-0.
The Polish second seed, who will take over the world No. 1 ranking next week, did not drop a set in Miami, extending her winning streak to 17 matches, dating back to her title run at the Qatar Open in February.
Swiatek, 20, becomes only the fourth woman to win both the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments in the same year, a feat dubbed as the “Sunshine Double” due to the tournaments’ locations in California and Florida, respectively.
The match began with a dramatic seven-deuce opening game in which Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, saved two break points and blasted down four aces to retain serve.
Swiatek broke Osaka with a superb crosscourt backhand winner to go ahead 3-2 in the first set and then went on to complete out the first set without facing a break point despite serving under 40%.
In the second set, the former French Open champion stepped up her game, breaking Osaka three times to surge to a 5-0 lead and never looking back, winning the 79-minute match on her first championship point when Osaka blasted a forehand long.
Swiatek became the first woman since Victoria Azarenka in 2016 to complete the “Sunshine Double.” Other women who have achieved this feat are Kim Clijsters (2005) and Steffi Graf (1994, 1996).
Osaka: Normally, I’d be crying, but now I’m relaxed
Following her defeat, Osaka stated that she may take something more significant than the winner’s trophy with her when she leaves Florida.
“I have learned that like, I don’t know, I’m not as disappointed as I normally would be like I think normally I would be crying in the locker room or something, but now I’m kind of like chill,” she said.
“I feel like I know what I want to do better, and I just want to go back and start training again to like hopefully win a tournament next time.”
Those were encouraging remarks from Osaka, who took a break from tennis last year to focus on her mental health and arrived in Florida after an early departure at Indian Wells after being heckled during a match.
Osaka, who last won a tournament in 2021 at the Australian Open, said her new mentality does not mean she isn’t still hungry for additional titles or striving to improve as a player.
“It’s all about keeping a certain perspective. Playing Iga today, just knowing the kind of roll that she’s on, I guess I have to think about it more, like what specifically did I learn today,” said Osaka.
“It’s kind of cool to be blown away by a person, like an opponent, but at the same time, I feel like I’m strong enough that that shouldn’t happen.
“So I’m a bit irritated a little bit, but I feel like, you know, this is like the learning process, and something good will happen eventually if I keep sticking with what I’m doing.”
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