Madrid Open: Swiatek finds Nadal inspiration to win title

Iga Swiatek

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek avenged her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year's Madrid final by defeating the World No. 2 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) to clinch her first title in the Spanish capital after a gruelling three-hour 11-minute battle on Saturday. The Pole, 22, drew inspiration from Rafael Nadal, and his ability to step up mentally when it mattered the most.

Also Read: Mumbai's Cup of joy!

"One thing that came through my mind was that I think Rafa had a couple of matches like that. I remember exactly when he was playing [Daniil] Medvedev in Australia [Open final in 2022] and it clicked for him. He also struggled, was tense and I think stressed. That kind of gave me hope that maybe it will click, even after two hours."

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever