WTA/ATP: Summer of Swiatek continues

The six-time Grand Slam champion went on to win 17 of her next 19 matches – a stretch that includes title runs at Wimbledon and Cincinnati – and now heads to the US Open as the world No.2, trailing leader Aryna Sabalenka by just 507 points in the Race to Riyadh.

Swiatek snagged a maiden Cincinnati crown with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Italian No.7 seed Jasmine Paolini in the final on Monday.

Earlier in the day, second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz also lifted his first trophy in Cincinnati when his opponent, top-ranked Jannik Sinner, retired from the final due to illness while trailing 0-5 in the opening set.

Iga – incredible and improving

In a season where she uncharacteristically didn’t win a title on clay or slow hard courts, Swiatek clinched a maiden grass-court title at Wimbledon, and a trophy on the historically super-fast hard courts in Cincinnati.

She admits those results were unexpected.

“Let's be honest. Well before, Cincinnati was like the fastest surface we had on tour. So now it has changed a little bit. It's different. It's better. But still, if I would have to point to tournaments that will be the hardest ones to win, it will be Wimbledon and Cincinnati,” Swiatek said during her post-match press conference on Monday.  

“So, I'm even more happy. And it proved that the greatest moments will come when you least expect them. And I'm also happy that I'm just progressing on these faster surfaces.”

Through five wins – and a walkover – in sweltering Cincinnati conditions, Swiatek did not drop a set en route to the 24th title of her career and 11th at the WTA 1000 level. Only Serena Williams has more WTA 1000 titles than Swiatek, with the American owning 13 trophies in that category.

Swiatek, who defeated Paolini in the Roland-Garros final last year, improved to a perfect 6-0 lifetime against the Italian.

In a competitive one-hour 49-minute final, Swiatek rebounded from an early 0-3 deficit and converted all six break points she created to overcome Paolini.

Both players claimed significant ranking bumps heading into the US Open. Swiatek moved back up to No.2 in the world, which will secure her a top-two seed in New York next week, while Paolini has inched back up to No.8 to lock down a top-eight seeding.

“It was, for sure, a positive two weeks here in Cincinnati, after one month and a half, very tough for me,” said Paolini after the final.

“I'm happy with the level I put in this tournament. Today, maybe I could serve a little bit better, but still, it's a positive tournament for me.”

Swiatek has a quick turnaround as she is due to take the court alongside Casper Ruud in mixed doubles action at the US Open on Tuesday.

Alcaraz banishes Cincy demons

Two years ago, a tearful Alcaraz powered through a difficult runner-up speech on the podium in Cincinnati after he had just lost a gruelling 3hr 49min final to Novak Djokovic, who saved a championship point en route to victory.

“It’s going to be tough for me to talk right now, but I’ll try to do my best,” said Alcaraz back then. “I want to congratulate Novak, once again. It’s amazing playing against you, sharing the court with you, learning from you. This match was really close but I learned a lot from a champion like you.”

Alcaraz is a fast learner.

At just 22, he is already a five-time Grand Slam champion and on Monday, he added a 21st title to his trophy cabinet, and a sixth title of the season, with victory over an ailing Sinner in the Cincinnati final.

Sinner retired 23 minutes into the match while trailing Alcaraz 0-5, handing the Spaniard an eighth Masters 1000 crown. Only Djokovic has won more titles at that level among active players.

“Obviously it's not that the way that I wanted to win the final,” said Alcaraz on Monday.

“First of all, I just want to wish Jannik a speedy recovery. Hopefully in a few days he's going to be okay to prepare and practice well for the US Open and playing such great tennis.

“But for myself, I'm just really, really happy to be able to leave with the trophy. Since I lost that final in 2023, I just wanted really, really badly this trophy, so I am just really proud and happy to be able to lift it.”

Alcaraz, who now leads Sinner 9-5 head-to-head, was facing the world No.1 for the fourth time in four months.

The Spaniard ended Sinner’s title defence in Cincinnati and snapped the Italian’s 26-match winning streak on hard courts.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz extended his unbeaten run at Masters 1000 tournaments to 17 consecutive matches.

Alcaraz hopped on a plane with Swiatek on Monday night to head straight to New York, where both of them are playing mixed doubles on Tuesday.

“The scheduling is not the best, to be honest, playing tomorrow, but the concept of the tournament, about the mixed doubles, I just loved it,” said Alcaraz, who is partnering Emma Raducanu.

“I think it’s going to be new for me, which I love. I'm gonna have so much fun playing there with Emma. It's going to be tough against Draper and Pegula. But I will try to enjoy as much as I can. I will try to see how it's going to be the court, the balls, everything. I will treat that as a really important and a good preparation for me.”

For Sinner - who retired from the mixed double competition -, retiring from the final was a disappointment but the Italian said he was happy, overall, with his tournament in Cincinnati.

“I didn't feel great from yesterday. Also during the night, I thought I would recover a bit better, but it was not the case. And I just tried to go out for the fans, trying to give a match,” he explained. “That's the reason why I went on the court, but it was not meant to be for me today. It happens.  

“But another way, I don't want to take anything away from Carlos. He had a great week, great, great tournament again. And now the main focus, obviously, is for US Open. Now recovery is the most important. And then we see.”