For the first time at the Madrid Open, the most recent women's finalists will clash once more in the 2024 Championship match, as Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka battle for glory on Saturday.
The world number one thrashed Madison Keys to reach yet another clay final, while Sabalenka - the defending champion - pulled off a miraculous comeback against Elena Rybakina.
Match preview
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Still on course to right the wrongs of the 2023 Madrid Open, where she suffered just her second-ever defeat in a Masters final, Swiatek was a class above American 18th seed Keys, who had navigated her way past Ons Jabeur and Coco Gauff to set up a meeting with the world number one.
The upsets ended there for Keys, though, as she was overwhelmed by Swiatek's unrivalled ball-striking and athleticism in a contest lasting just one hour and 10 minutes, in which last year's runner-up strolled to a 6-1 6-3 victory for her fourth straight-sets win of the tournament.
Only beaten quarter-finalist Beatriz Haddad Maia has taken a set off Swiatek in Madrid, where the Pole has also eased past Wang Xiyu, Sorana Cirstea and Sara Sorribes Tormo en route to an 11th Masters final, and eight of her previous 10 have seen her lift the WTA 1000 crown aloft.
Swiatek will add a 20th top-level crown to her ever-growing collection should she come up trumps in her 10th final on clay, and she has remarkably reached the championship match in over half of her main-draw appearances on the surface, the most of any WTA player in the 21st century with at least five main-draw entries to their name.
Furthermore, the 22-year-old has prevailed in each of her last six WTA finals on any surface - including Masters successes in Qatar, China and Indian Wells - although there are no prizes for guessing where she was last forced to accept the runners-up prize.
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Sabalenka's path to the Madrid final has not been so straightforward, as the Belarusian was taken to three sets in her opening three battles with Magda Linette, Robin Montgomery and Danielle Collins before teaching 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva a harsh lesson in the quarter-finals.
The crown was seemingly slipping out of Sabalenka's grasp in Thursday's semi with Rybakina, though, as she was left battered and bruised in the first set and also fell a break down in the second, but her inspirational powers of recovery came to the fore as the night drew to a close.
With two hours and 17 minutes on the board, Sabalenka and Rybakina shared a warm embrace at the net after the holder edged a nail-biting tie-breaker to prevail 1-6 7-5 7-6[5], thereby extending her winning streak in three-setters with Rybakina to an eye-catching six matches and ending the Kazakhstani's 16-match clay winning sequence.
Hitting four more winners than Rybakina (35-31) albeit while committing six more unforced errors (29-23), the world number two has already retained the Australian Open title this year and could make it back-to-back Masters triumphs for the second time too, having prevailed in Wuhan in 2018 and 2019.
As well as representing a rematch of the 2023 final, Saturday's contest will also see the women's world number one and world number two lock horns for the first time in 2024, and it would take a plucky soul to confidently predict the outcome of this tantalising battle.
Tournament so far
Iga Swiatek:
Second round: vs. Wang Xiyu 6-1 6-4
Third round: vs. Sorana Cirstea 6-1 6-1
Round of 16: vs. Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1 6-0
Quarter-final: vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia 4-6 6-0 6-2
Semi-final: vs. Madison Keys 6-1 6-3
Aryna Sabalenka:
Second round: vs. Magda Linette 6-4 3-6 6-3
Third round: vs. Robin Montgomery 6-1 6-7[5] 6-4
Round of 16: vs. Danielle Collins 4-6 6-4 6-3
Quarter-final: vs. Mirra Andreeva 6-1 6-4
Semi-final: vs. Elena Rybakina 1-6 7-5 7-6[5]
Head To Head
WTA Finals (2023) - Semi-final: Swiatek wins 6-3 6-2
Madrid Open (2023) - Final: Sabalenka wins 6-3 3-6 6-3
Stuttgart Open (2023) - Final: Swiatek wins 6-3 6-4
WTA Finals (2022) - Semi-final: Sabalenka wins 6-2 2-6 6-1
US Open (2022) - Semi-final: Swiatek wins 3-6 6-1 6-4
Italian Open (2022) - Semi-final: Swiatek wins 6-2 6-1
Stuttgart Open (2022) - Final: Swiatek wins 6-2 6-2
Qatar Open (2022) - Quarter-final: Swiatek wins 6-2 6-3
WTA Finals (2021) - Round Robin: Sabalenka wins 2-6 6-2 7-5
Swiatek and Sabalenka will be crossing paths on the WTA Tour for the 10th time at La Caja Magica, and the Pole comes into the meeting with head-to-head superiority on her side, claiming six victories compared to three for her 25-year-old foe.
However, one of those successes for Sabalenka was her triumph in last year's Madrid showpiece - naturally in three sets - although Swiatek has earned one measure of revenge since, easing to a 6-3 6-2 win in the WTA Finals semi-finals.
Furthermore, the Pole has prevailed in each of their other three contests on clay, sinking Sabalenka in the 2022 and 2023 Stuttgart finals in addition to the 2022 Italian Open semis, dropping just 15 games in the course of those contests.
We say: Swiatek to win in three sets
Madrid history may be on Sabalenka's side this week, but she has dropped a whopping 60 games en route to this year's championship match, the most of any women's finalist in the history of the tournament.
The Belarusian never knows when she is beaten and possesses the venom required to trouble Swiatek, but with the world number one having longer to recover from her semi-final exploits and looking near-unflappable on the clay, we expect her to exact revenge for last year and take home WTA title number 20.
