Seoul: Top seed Iga Swiatek of Poland trailed in nearly every single statistical category in Sunday’s Korea Open final but won the big moments to defeat No. 2 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 in 2 hours and 41 minutes to lift another title on the WTA Tour. The victory marked her third title of the season and the 25th of her career. She is now 25-5 all-time in WTA finals.
“First of all, I want to congratulate Ekaterina for an amazing week and an amazing final,” Swiatek said during the trophy presentation. “Honestly, I don’t know how I won it because you were playing great, and I just tried to stay alive. Hopefully we’re going to play more finals because it’s always tough against you, but it’s also entertaining.”
Her never-say-die mentality ultimately gave Swiatek the edge in a match defined by razor-thin margins – aside from the lopsided opening set. Alexandrova, the clear underdog, came out swinging and needed just 30 minutes to take the first set convincingly, breaking Swiatek in the opening game and never looking back.
The 24-year-old Swiatek flipped the script to start the second set, breaking Alexandrova immediately. But the momentum shifted again as Alexandrova broke back in the next game. The two then traded holds until it came time for a tiebreak, where Swiatek finally looked to be the one in control for the first time in the match.
The former World No.1 and seven-time Grand Slam singles winner jumped out to a 3-0 lead, extended it to 5-2, and closed out the tiebreak 7-3 to force a decider.
Early in the third, Swiatek handed Alexandrova a break with three double faults in one game, falling behind 2-1. But she recovered, levelling the set at 3-all and taking the lead for just the second time in the match in the next game.
From there, scoreboard pressure worked in Swiatek’s favour. As Alexandrova served to stay in the match, Swiatek turned up the heat – blasting a cross-court forehand winner on her second match point to put away her opponent and seal the comeback.
Meanwhile, Katerina Siniakova and Barbora Krejcikova reunited for what turned out to be a milestone title for both players.
The win was especially meaningful for Siniakova, who reclaimed the WTA doubles No. 1 ranking. She now sits at 161 career weeks atop the rankings – just two shy of Cara Black for third on the all-time list.
For Siniakova, it’s her 31st career WTA doubles title and third of the season, having previously won the Australian Open and the WTA 1000 event in Dubai with regular partner Taylor Townsend – who, coincidentally, is the player she displaced from the top spot in the rankings.
For Krejcikova, the victory marks her milestone 20th career WTA doubles title and first of the 2025 season. Her last came in Prague in 2024, also alongside Siniakova.
(IANS)
