MADRID — World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka defeated Coco Gauff 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) to win her third Madrid Open title.
Last year’s runner-up cruised past the American, ranked fourth, in the first set before digging deep in the second to triumph in a tie-break, sealing victory as Gauff double-faulted.
Sabalenka recorded her tour-leading 31st victory on Madrid clay, adding the WTA 1000 trophy to titles in Brisbane and Miami.
It was the sixth final she has reached this year and the 37th of her career, the fourth in five years at Madrid, according to AFP.
Last year, Sabalenka was beaten by Iga Swiatek in the showpiece, whom Gauff defeated in the semi-final.
The three-time Grand Slam champion ripped through the first set after Gauff managed an initial hold.
Sabalenka won the next 17 points and racked up a 4-1 lead with breaks in the third and fifth games, as Gauff struggled to cope with her immense power.
The 21-year-old American, who won the US Open in 2023, managed a break of her own to slow down the 2021 and 2023 Madrid champion.
Sabalenka broke again to wrap up the first set in 35 minutes with her second set point as Gauff sliced wide.
The American came out reinforced in the second set, switching up her serve more and securing a break in the third game, consolidating for a 3-1 advantage.
Gauff saved two break points as Sabalenka applied heavy pressure in the sixth game, holding for a 4-2 lead.
At 5-4 up and serving for the set, Gauff twice double-faulted, handing her opponent three break points.
Sabalenka dropped her racquet in a comical moment during a rally on the second of those, the Belarusian looking at the crowd in bemusement, as Gauff saved all three.
After squandering set point, Gauff saved another break point, but Sabalenka eventually claimed the game at the fifth time of asking.
The world No 1 battled through a tough hold for 6-5 but spurned a championship point as Gauff forced a tie-break.
Sabalenka secured two mini-breaks before Gauff fought back on serve, but eventually the 26-year-old took control, opening up three more championship points.
Gauff handed victory to this year’s Australian Open runner-up on a plate with a double fault.
This marks Sabalenka’s milestone 20th career Hologic WTA Tour singles title. She is also now tied for the most Mutua Madrid Open titles in women’s singles; Petra Kvitova has also won this title thrice (2011, 2015 and 2018).
Sabalenka continues her pattern of winning this title in odd-numbered years during this decade. She beat then-World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty to claim the title in 2021, and took down another reigning No. 1, Swiatek, in the 2023 final. Sabalenka nearly completed the hat trick last year but narrowly lost to Swiatek in last year’s classic final.
Gauff came into the final leading Sabalenka 5-4 in their head-to-head, including a win for the American in their only previous clay-court match at 2021 Rome.
But after Gauff toughed out a tricky opening hold, Sabalenka took control. Pulverizing second serves whenever she could, the World No. 1 won the next 17 points consecutively to build a dominant 4-1 lead.
Gauff got one break back and had a chance in Sabalenka’s service game at 4-3 as well, but Sabalenka regrouped from a brief wobble and collected three games on the run to seal the one-set lead.
But that was merely a lead-in to a gripping second set. Gauff continued her improvement, putting more action on her shots and hitting heavier forehands, and she earned an early break, eventually serving for the set at 5-4.
That was a nail-biting game, where Sabalenka saw a 0-40 advantage slip away — including one point where her racquet literally slipped out of her hands. In that tussle, Gauff came all the way back from triple break point down to set point.
But Sabalenka grinded through that game, converting her fifth break point to pull level at 5-5. Two games later, Sabalenka held her first championship point, but Gauff battled to set up a crucial tiebreak, as drizzle began to fall.
In the breaker, Sabalenka saw another lead dwindle from 3-0 to 3-3, but the top seed drew errors from Gauff to reclaim her edge and hold three more championship points at 6-3. A stirring clash unfortunately ended with Gauff’s eighth double fault.
Sabalenka is now 6-0 against Top 10 players this season. Gauff did finish the final with four more winners than Sabalenka, but the American also had seven more unforced errors as Sabalenka narrowly triumphed.
