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Sabalenka Hoping to Extend ‘Amazing’ Rivalry with Swiatek after Madrid Win

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka holds the winner's trophy after defeating Iga Swiatek of Poland at the end of the women's final at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, May 6, 2023. (AP)
Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka holds the winner's trophy after defeating Iga Swiatek of Poland at the end of the women's final at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, May 6, 2023. (AP)
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Sabalenka Hoping to Extend ‘Amazing’ Rivalry with Swiatek after Madrid Win

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka holds the winner's trophy after defeating Iga Swiatek of Poland at the end of the women's final at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, May 6, 2023. (AP)
Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka holds the winner's trophy after defeating Iga Swiatek of Poland at the end of the women's final at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, May 6, 2023. (AP)

Aryna Sabalenka beat world number one Iga Swiatek to win the Madrid Open in the pair's second clash in a final this year, with the Belarusian saying she hopes their burgeoning rivalry will continue to enthrall tennis fans throughout the season.

The world number two had lost all three previous meetings with Swiatek on clay, including a defeat in last month's Stuttgart final, but produced an aggressive performance on Saturday to win 6-3 3-6 6-3 and establish herself as a serious contender at the upcoming French Open.

Sabalenka had a 2-5 win-loss record against the Pole prior to Saturday's win, with four of those losses coming in 2022.

"She always pushes me to the limits. I'm really enjoying our battles. Hopefully we can play many more finals this season," Sabalenka told reporters.

"I would say that this year's matches are completely different matches than it was last year. I improved a lot, and I really want to win against her, because she's such a great player.

"To have this win, especially on clay, that's something unbelievable. I'm really happy that I'm able to fight against her and get these wins so it's not super boring for people to watch our matches."

Asked if their rivalry could be beneficial for the sport, Sabalenka said, "I think women's tennis needs this kind of consistency, to see world number one and world number two in the finals.

"I think it's more enjoyable for fans to watch and it's more intense... I think when people see these kind of finals, it makes them want to see this battle. That's something amazing, and hopefully we can keep doing what we are doing this season."

The pair are next in action at the May 9-20 Italian Open in Rome, before travelling to Paris for the French Open, which begins on May 28.

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Sinner Beats Fritz to Win ATP Finals

Tennis - ATP Finals - Inalpi Arena, Turin, Italy - November 17, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning the final match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Tennis - ATP Finals - Inalpi Arena, Turin, Italy - November 17, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning the final match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
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Sinner Beats Fritz to Win ATP Finals

Tennis - ATP Finals - Inalpi Arena, Turin, Italy - November 17, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning the final match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Tennis - ATP Finals - Inalpi Arena, Turin, Italy - November 17, 2024 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after winning the final match against Taylor Fritz of the US REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner added another big title to his tremendous year, beating US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday for the ATP Finals trophy before his home fans — and before a final verdict is reached in his doping case.
Sinner won his first two Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and US Open in 2024 and had already clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking.
But Sinner also tested positive in two separate drug tests in March and a decision to clear him of wrongdoing was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in September. A final ruling is expected from the Court of Arbitration for Sport early next year.
Sinner’s explanation was that the banned performance-enhancer entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat his own cut finger.
Sinner maintained his recent mastery over Fritz, having also beaten the American in the US Open final in September and in the group stage this week at the elite event for the year’s top eight players.
By sweeping all five of his matches en route to the trophy, Sinner earned $4.8 million — the largest winner’s prize on the men’s tour, The Associated Press reported.
Sinner became the first Italian to win the finals and he went one step further than last year, when he lost the championship match to Novak Djokovic, who withdrew this time. And he did so without dropping a set – which was last accomplished by Ivan Lendl in 1986.
The crowd inside Inalpi Arena included multiple clusters of fans wearing orange — a tribute to Sinner’s red- and orange-colored hair, and how he once ate carrots during a match. There were orange carrot costumes, orange wigs, orange hats, jackets and plenty of other orange items, too.
Some fans even had carrots in their mouths.
The crowd broke into its customary chant of “Ole, Ole, Ole; Sin-ner, Sin-ner” when Sinner produced a drop-shot winner to break for a 4-3 lead in the first set.
Sinner faced a break point while serving for the first set but saved it with a big serve out wide that Fritz couldn’t return. Then he served an ace — his 10th of the set — to close it out.
Another break by Sinner early in the second and the match was virtually over.
Sinner extended his winning streak to 11 matches. He’s won 26 of his last 27 matches and ends the ATP season with eight titles and an overall record of 70-6.
Fritz was attempting to become the event’s first American champion since Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi in the title match 25 years ago.
Still, Fritz will rise to a career-high No. 4 in the rankings on Monday after beating No. 2 Alexander Zverev in a third-set tiebreaker in the semifinals on Saturday. That will make him the highest-ranked American man since Andy Roddick was No. 4 in August 2007.
It’s the latest in a series of achievements for Fritz, whose run in New York made him the first American man to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009.
At the start of the week, Fritz told The Associated Press that his “career has always been a very steady progression and just improving a little bit each year.”
Both Sinner and Fritz will conclude their seasons representing defending champion Italy and the United States, respectively, in the Davis Cup finals, which start Tuesday in Malaga, Spain.
The German duo of Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz beat Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) to win the doubles title.