World number one Iga Świątek retained her Italian Open title after overwhelming Ons Jabeur 6-2 6-2 in Rome on Sunday, clinching her fifth consecutive WTA crown and winning her 28th match in a row.
Having swept the titles in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami, Świątek has now won every WTA 1000 tournament she has contested this season and will be the favourite to add to her 2020 French Open success when the Grand Slam tournament begins next week.
Świątek outmanoeuvred Jabeur to snap the Tunisian's 11-match winning streak, which began in her title run in Madrid, to level their head-to-head record at 2-2 after having lost both 2021 meetings at Wimbledon and Cincinnati.
"Today I'm going to celebrate with a lot of tiramisu, no regrets," said Poland's Świątek, who collapsed on the red clay at Foro Italico and broke down in tears after securing the title.
In the pair's first meeting on clay, Świątek was barely troubled by world number seven Jabeur in the opening stages of the match and comfortably held her serve to race into a commanding 3-0 lead.
Jabeur tested her 20-year-old opponent at 4-2 but Świątek dug herself out of a 0-30 hole to hold from deuce and take the game before wrapping up the set on her second set point when the Tunisian whipped a forehand into the net.
The second set started off in similar fashion, with Jabeur proving no match for Świątek's power and mobility from the baseline as the Pole cruised 4-0 ahead.
Jabeur won the next two games and looked set for another but Świątek held from 0-40 down, saving four break points and closed out the game on her first serve before a backhand into the net from the Tunisian ended her resistance.
Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: eurosport