Staff Reporter.
World No 1 Iga Swiatek beat Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart for the second year running to claim her second title of 2023.
It was her first tournament since recovering from a rib injury that forced her to miss the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers and Miami Open.
The Polish player said: “I want to thank my team because it has been such an intense time. I am so happy we are making the right decisions.
“It is a pretty exciting time. I will be coming back because I love this tournament.
“Congrats Aryna for everything, you’ve had such an amazing season. I’m really happy that we’re so consistent and can play so many amazing matches together because I think fans are enjoying it.”
Swiatek is the first player to win back-to-back Stuttgart titles since Angelique Kerber in 2015 and 2016, with Sabalenka suffering her third successive final defeat in the final.
The Belarusian said: “Can we make a deal that if I make another final I just get an extra car?
“I really enjoy playing here – not that much right now because I lost in a third final, it hurts. But it’s a great tournament. I will keep coming back until I get the car.”
It was the first time a women’s world number one had faced the world number two on clay since Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova in the 2013 French Open final.
Swiatek is preparing to defend her French Open title at Roland Garros from 28 May.
Rune stages incredible comeback
In Germany, Denmark’s Holger Rune produced a remarkable comeback in a thrilling final set to overcome Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp and defend his BMW Open title.
Rune, struggling with a upper arm injury, was seemingly on the brink of defeat at 2-5 15-40 down on the Van de Zandschulp serve.
The 19-year-old then twisted his ankle in the 10th game but still managed to save four championship points and force a tie-break, which he won to seal a 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-3) victory.
It was Rune’s fourth ATP title and a repeat of the 2022 final, which saw Van de Zandschulp retire injured after just seven games of the first set.
In Bosnia-Herzegovina, Dusan Lajovic won the Srpska Open with a three-set win over world number six Andrey Rublev.
The Serb world number 70, who beat Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals, won 6-3 4-6 6-4 to claim just his second career title.
“Honestly it was probably the toughest match I have had in the past six months. I felt drained,” said the 32-year-old, whose first title was the Croatia Open in 2019.
“The last time I was in a final was four years ago and I have been through a lot since then, lots of ups and downs.
“But on the other side I still believed in myself, even though I did not have the best last year. This victory means a lot.”