The atmosphere at Arthur Ashe was worthy of a top flight final. Thousands of New Yorkers of Polish descent stained the stands red and white, ready to support their idol, world number one Iga Swiatek. Drums with North African rhythms were also heard to encourage her opponent, the Tunisian Ons Jabeur, the first Arab tennis player to reach the final of a Grand Slam. Some fans and their entire team also wore black T-shirts with the phrase “Yalla, Habibi” (Come on, honey!) which coincides with the title of a popular song.
The two finalists had their own reasons for taking the win. With two greats already in his showcase, both in the red earth of Paris, Swiatek wanted to expand his collection of titles with his first cup in New York. Jabeur fell short of her first Grand Slam at Wimbledon (she was the first tennis player to qualify for the title match at Wimbledon and the US Open in the same season since Serena did in 2014) and was ready to take off that spine.
The Pole went for it all. “These two weeks I’ve learned that I can see myself in any circumstance and get ahead,” she said before entering the court, referring to her ultimate victory over Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who practically had the match won for her. In the first set, Iga swept his serve (he got 90% of his first serves) and with shots to the corners that dislodged his rival. Immediately it was put with 3 to 0 on the scoreboard. He wanted to make it clear who was the first in the ranking and why. In the exchanges, the 21-year-old Polish woman sat in her chair and closed her eyes, concentrating, isolating herself from the noise and music of the stadium.
In the fourth game Jabeur seemed to wake up, scoring two consecutive games. But his streak was short-lived as Swiatek gave him no choice, taking the next three games and the first set in half an hour.
The intensity of the number one continued in the second set. The Tunisian was no longer so surprised by Swiatek’s steamrolling game, who still pressured her with her speed and precision, but Jabeur made her work harder for points and that frustrated the Pole. In any case, until 4-2 the score was the same as in the first set: Swiatek broke in the second, Ons recovered from the break in the fifth. And that’s where it started to change. “Come on, come on, positive,” his coach yelled at Jabeur. Next to him, Arantxa Sánchez, who was also her adviser, encouraged her “Let’s go, let’s go!”. The North African managed to break to restore equality at 4 and continued to put pressure on her opponent’s service games. He failed to convert a match point in Swiatek’s eleventh game, and the tie held until the tiebreaker. There, after alternate mini-breaks, a second championship point came to the Pole, which she took when her rival hit a forehand beyond the baseline.
Iga and Ons exchange a long hug. “Well fought,” the champion told her victim. Iga’s smile turned to tears as she came over to celebrate the win with her team. In addition to the trophy, she takes two and a half million euros for these seven victories in New York and consolidates herself at the top of the classification. Her rival has to settle for one million three hundred and a brand new world number two.
