Iga Swiatek Sweeps Ons Jabeur in Straight Sets to Win 1st Career US Open Title
September 10, 2022
Top-seed Iga Swiatek capped off a near-perfect run at the 2022 U.S. Open with a 6-2, 7-6 (5) victory over Ons Jabeur to win the women's final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Trailing 5-4 in the second-set tiebreak, Swiatek won three consecutive points to secure the win. The match ended when Jabeur's return shot on a rally landed just beyond the baseline.
Saturday's victory marks the third career Grand Slam tournament title for Swiatek. She previously won the French Open twice (2020 and 2022). The 21-year-old only lost one set in seven matches en route to victory.
ESPN @espnIga Świątek takes the US Open 🏆 <br><br>She's the youngest three-time women's major champion since 2008!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ThatsaW?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ThatsaW</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USOpen?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USOpen</a> <a href="https://t.co/TJxirQMUHq">pic.twitter.com/TJxirQMUHq</a>
Swiatek came out of the gate on fire, winning each of the first three games in the first set. Jabeur attempted to make things interesting by winning the next two games, including breaking Swiatek's serve in the fifth game to make it 3-2.
This seemed to act as a wake-up call for Swiatek. The Polish superstar went on to win the next three games and finish the opening set in about 30 minutes.
The second set offered more drama and intrigue than the opener. Swiatek was able to hold serve in the first game, but it came after she missed more serves (three) than in the entire first set (two) and Jabeur got to deuce.
Swiatek eventually got up 4-2 in the set before Jabeur was able to gather momentum. The No. 5 seed broke Swiatek's serve in the seventh game. She held serve in the eighth game to make it 4-4.
Jabeur had three break-point chances in the next game but was unable to close it out. She committed two unforced errors, followed by an ace from Swiatek to take the lead back.
The Tunisian star rebounded when she got back on serve. She reeled off three consecutive points to even the set at 5-5.
Swiatek was able to get back on track after getting back on serve. She won the game comfortably, taking a 6-5 advantage and putting herself in position to close it out if she could break Jabeur.
At one point Swiatek did get to championship point up 40-30, but she lost the next three points to send the second set to a tiebreak.
There were some nervous moments for Swiatek in the tiebreak. She lost consecutive points while on serve because of unforced errors that put her behind 5-4. A forehand winner on the next point got her back on track to avoid going to a decisive third set.
Swiatek hasn't dropped a set in any of her three appearances in a Grand Slam final. Jabeur has had a fantastic season thus far, reaching the final at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, even though she hasn't been able to get over the hump in a Grand Slam yet.