Swiatek’s 27th straight win gets final spot
ROME: Not since Serena Williams seven years ago has another woman tennis player enjoyed such a hot streak.
Topranked Iga Swiatek routed Aryna Sabalenka 62, 61 for her 27th straight win and reached the Italian Open final on Saturday.
The great Williams won 27 in a row over 2014 and 2015, although that’s not in the same league as the alltime longest streak, Martina Navratilova’s 74 stright in 1984.
‘‘I’m just constantly surprising myself that I can do better and better,’’ Swiatek said.
‘‘I feel like I actually can believe now that the sky’s the limit. That’s the fun part.’’
Aiming to defend her Rome title in Sunday’s final, Swiatek will face another player on a run, Ons Jabeur, who saved a match point on the way to beating Daria Kasatkina 64, 16, 75 for her 11th consecutive victory after lifting the Madrid Open trophy last week.
Seeking to win her fifth straight tournament, Swiatek dominated the eighth ranked Sabalenka with power, consistency and finesse.
While she struggled with her serve at times, she was able to consistently crush both forehand and backhand winners on the slow, red clay court at the Foro Italico.
The 20yearold also hit a delicate backhand halfvolley winner in the final game of the first set.
Swiatek had the same number of winners and unforced errors, 15, while Sabalenka produced just eight winners and had a whopping 31 unforced errors.
‘‘Today I felt like I really understood the clay,’’ Swiatek said.
The hardhitting Sabalenka took a medical timeout late in the second set to have her back treated.
When it was over, she waved her arms to urge the crowd to cheer her louder.
Swiatek, a surprise champion at the French Open in 2020 when she was ranked No 54, will be the favourite to add a second title at Roland Garros when the year’s second Grand Slam starts next weekend.
There’s more to Swiatek’s super season than her winning streak.
With more than half the season still to go, Swiatek has already won as many matches this year (36) as she did in all of 2021.
She also became the seventh player to reach two finals in Rome before turning 21 after Chris Evert, Navratilova, Gabriela Sabatini, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis and Venus Williams. — AP