Swiatek saves 3 match points, beats Sabalenka in thrilling Madrid final

TOPSHOT - Poland's Iga Swiatek kises her trophy after beating Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka during the 2024 WTA Tour Madrid Open tournament final tennis match at Caja Magica in Madrid on May 4, 2024.
PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP / Getty

MADRID (AP) — Iga Swiatek avenged her loss in last year's final to Aryna Sabalenka and won the Madrid Open on Saturday after a third-set tiebreaker.

The top-ranked Swiatek beat No. 2 Sabalenka 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7) for her 20th career title and third of the season. The Polish player will seek her fourth French Open title later this month as the two-time defending champion at Roland Garros.

Swiatek saved three match points in a final that lasted more than three hours. She improved her head-to-head record with Sabalenka to 7-3.

Sabalenka got the better of Swiatek last year at Madrid in three sets for the first win over her rival on clay. The two-time Australian Open champion was seeking a record-tying third title in Madrid.

On Sunday, Andrey Rublev plays Felix Auger-Aliassime in the men's final.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

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