Warsaw-
Iga Swiatek picked up her 15th WTA Tour title by defeating Laura Siegemund 6-0 6-1 in Warsaw. She also had to finish her semifinal earlier that day, taking 15 points to Yanina Wickmayer’s 13 since the resumption. A quarterfinalist at this event last year, the Pole extends her lead over Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA Rankings to 645 points, although she still trails her by 490 in the WTA Race.
No sets lost
The 22-year-old comes from Raszyn, a village just 9km southwest of Warsaw. That’s why this title feels more special to the World No. 1. But having that crowd behind her also added a special kind of pressure, which she usually didn’t handle all that well in the past. “I’m proud of myself because it wasn’t an easy week. Every day I felt I’m playing a little bit better. For sure, I made big progress. That’s the first time I managed to really show my best game in a tournament in Warsaw,” said the Pole after winning the title.
Swiatek didn’t drop a set on the way to the title, beating five opponents in a row and only needing one tie-break. She was pushed early by Nigina Abduraimova of Uzbekistan, who was firing massive first serves and took advantage of the Pole being in a bit of a vacation mode after Wimbledon. But by Saturday, the World No. 1 was back to her scintillating best, dismantling the fellow junior Slam champion Linda Noskova and going up 6-1 5-2 on the resurgent Yanina Wickmayer. In a surprising turn of events, the Belgian saved three match points on serve and broke back twice to extend the match, which had to be postponed until Sunday due to darkness.
First WTA 250 title, short affair in the final
This is already Swiatek’s fourth title of the year with previous success in Doha and Stuttgart (both WTA 500s), and Roland Garros. Much has been said about her excellent record in finals, which now stands at 15-4. This was only her second appearance in a championship match of a WTA 250 though. Back in 2019, she lost to Polona Hercog at Lugano in what was her first-ever WTA Tour final. Now she also has a trophy of that category.
The final never really got all that interesting with Swiatek fast out of the blocks and Siegemund understandably weary after her Saturday efforts. Between 10am and 7pm that day, the 35-year-old spent about six hours on the court in amazing thrillers with Lucrezia Stefanini and Tatjana Maria. Near the end, she was forced to net rush without hesitation to try to keep the points short. Her tactics against Swiatek had to be similar, but she just wasn’t able to have as much fun with the Pole punishing her serve and coming up with one spectacular bit of shotmaking after another.
Will the tournament survive?
The BNP Paribas Warsaw Open is pretty much based around one player, with Swiatek attracting both the fans and the media incomparably more than anyone else in the draw. That brings up the question of the event’s longevity and the switch to hard courts this year was an attempt to make it more suitable for the main star to play in Warsaw and bring in a better field. The first idea was a success, the second perhaps only marginally. Without the World No. 1, it would be basically impossible to make this event profitable.
Maybe the tournament is going to help raise people’s interest not only in Swiatek, but also in tennis as a whole though. “With every year, more people know me and I’m more popular. I’d love it if the stands were full at matches of other players, not only when I’m on. But definitely events like this help and make more people follow tennis and me, get to know the discipline,” said the 22-year-old asked if she already feels like there was interest in this event compared to the previous edition.
Another dilemma that the organizers will be facing next year is the scheduling in regard to the Paris Olympics (where the tennis tournament will be played on clay). Swiatek will not want to ruin her chances at Paris by jumping between surfaces right before the event. “I’d love to play here next year, but it’s unique because of the Olympics. I’m not looking that far ahead because we’ve just found out what the end of the 2023 season will look like. But definitely, the Olympics will be the priority,” said Swiatek, who will play singles in Paris along with mixed doubles with Poland’s ATP No. 1, Hubert Hurkacz.
It’s also doubtful many Top 100 players would be willing to sign up. Therefore, maybe the only course of action is to attempt to move the BNP Paribas Warsaw Open or change the surface at the venue again (but that would be very counterproductive with the amount of money that was spent on it this year). Is this the last time the Pole gets to play a WTA 250 at home? We’ll have to wait and see.
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
