World No. 1 Iga Swiatek wins her third major title at the US Open in a thrilling three-sets all-around victory as she overcame a shaky start to beat the always formidable Serena Williams 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 in the final. The match was a tense affair as Swiatek started slowly, but began to make the most of her chances in the second and third sets, her game gradually tightening up to allow her to come out with a big victory. Williams won more than half of the points played in the match, but couldn’t make any inroads as Swiatek was able to punish her with winners. From the back of the court, Swiatek appeared to be in control of the game for most of the match, her play serving and returning much sharper than Williams. However, the 25-year-old had other ideas and was able to get a few breaks of serve and put the American on the defensive throughout the match. With the win, Swiatek moves to 35-0 on the year, equalling Nadal’s record of 36 for the most major titles won before her 27th birthday.
Serena Williams was back on her feet after a tough match at the French Open, her hard-fought victory over Francesca Schiavone looking to be a very good way to open the US Open week. Her biggest challenge at Roland Garros was the need to deal with the top five players at the top of the draw, but she did it quite well as she won four matches to beat world number three Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 in the first round.
Williams’ big win over Pliskova will see her move to 36-0 in her career against women seeded above. In addition, she has won five matches in a row to move to 21-0 in Grand Slam singles matches. On the way, she defeated Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-3 to make it 20-0. The win now sees Williams moving into second place in the career Grand Slam singles rankings.
Pliskova defeated her opponent in straight sets in the third round of Madrid, but that did little to damage a generally positive streak from the American. She will need to win the next