MADRID – Polish tennis star and three-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek said she feels “proud” of herself after successfully defended her Stuttgart Open title over Aryna Sabalenka.
“I am proud of myself and the team that we were able to get better and better every match. For sure, the final was so intense, I am just happy that I was able to keep the good level,” the world No. 1 said according to AP.
Swiatek will be the defending champion in Paris and will be aiming to win the fourth Grand Slam title of her career. “I am preparing for that but I don’t want to get my expectations high,” she added.
“In tennis, we have to work on every match and there’s a long way from the beginning of the tournament to the end, so I am just going to keep doing my work day by day.”
The world No. 1, who missed Madrid Open last year due to injury, will face either British No. 1 Emma Raducanu or a qualifier in the first round.
For the first time in the past 263 tournaments, the World No.1 and No.2 players faced off, with No.1 Swiatek edging No.2 Sabalenka in the Stuttgart final. The last time this happened came at the 2018 Australian Open final, when Caroline Wozniacki defeated Simona Halep.
Swiatek extended her stay at No.1 for the 56th consecutive week and maintains a 2,084-point lead over Sabalenka.
Jabeur, Pliskova out of Madrid Open
Ons Jabeur and Karolina Pliskova have withdrawn from the Madrid Tennis Open due to injury.
Jabeur, who won her first career WTA 1000 title at the Mutua Madrid Open last year, is unable to defend her title this year. The World No.4 from Tunisia withdrew from the tournament because of a left calf injury.
Jabeur made it to the final four of last week’s Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, but she retired from her semifinal match against World No.1 Iga Swiatek while trailing 3-0 due to her ailing left calf.
Two-time Grand Slam finallist Jabeur said on social media that medical exams showed “a small tear in my calf and I will need more time to recover. I am sad to announce that I won’t be able to compete and defend my title this year at [Madrid.]”
Pliskova said she hopes to recover in time for next month’s event in Rome ahead of the French Open.
Pliskova, 15th in the world rankings, said on Twitter she suffered the injury during her quarter-final defeat by Iga Swiatek at the Stuttgart Open last week.
The Italian Open runs from May 9-20 before Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam of the year, begins on May 28. Pliskova’s best result at the claycourt major came in 2017 when she reached the semi-finals.
