Iga Swiatek is into her maiden Cincinnati Open final, having showcased incredible spirit to defeat an inspired Elena Rybakina.
Given the way the match started, many would be forgiven for being stunned by the end result.
After all, it was the big-serving Kazakhstani who dominated the opening games, winning her service games in remarkably simple fashion before then challenging the Swiatek serve at every opportunity.
And yet, it was only when she had engineered herself into a fine position, serving for the first set, that the match changed.
She was broken, and Iga Swiatek would win every game following to take the opening set 7-5. From that point on, the match seemed a foregone conclusion.
However, upon reflection, the Polish superstar could only come up with two words to describe the start to this clash: “pretty crazy”.
Iga Swiatek reacts to reaching her first Cincinnati Open final
Speaking in her on-court interview, Swiatek began by first reviewing what turned into a really impressive, comprehensive victory against a hugely in-form opponent.
“Oh, my God,” she began, struggling to catch her breath after a whirlwind match came to an end. “That was a tough match, you know, at the beginning, the level, I think, was pretty crazy.
“We played so fast that sometimes, you know, we couldn’t even run to the second ball because we played so fast, you know, but I was there to play with intensity and good quality, and I’m super happy with the performance.
“I served much better, so for sure it helped, and I wouldn’t change anything.”
Then asked about the final, before she had learned that her opponent would be Jasmine Paolini, Swiatek continued: “Anyone who’s going to be in the final is gonna be super tough, but both of these opponents play totally different tennis, like on the other sides of the spectrum in terms of the spin and the pace.
“So I have to for sure prepare tactically, but I’ll just kind of focus on myself and try to continue the work I’ve been doing, because for sure I feel like I progressed at this tournament, so I just want to continue that. no matter, you know, what the result is or what the state of the match is.”
Iga Swiatek’s 2025 season has been completely different from usual
Swiatek has, over the past few years, become a relatively predictable commodity. And that is far from a bad thing.
After all, it always felt like her very best tennis came just after the Australian Open, where she often shone on the brief hard-court swing before then shifting across to her favoured clay.
There, she would often dominate, before defending her coveted French Open title ahead of the grass-court swing.
Swiatek’s relationship with the grass has been a complicated one, but this year she summoned something few predicted, and against all the odds, the 24-year-old won the Wimbledon title in emphatic fashion.
Now the heavy favourite to win the Cincinnati Open and make another run at the US Open too, it feels like the five-time Grand Slam champion is only improving as the year goes on, contrary to how her form usually transfers throughout a season.
It feels like, given her ongoing form, nobody can beat her. How this translates into the US Open will be of great interest to the tennis community.
