Tennis·ROUNDUP

Swiatek successfully defends Porsche Tennis Grand Prix title, beating Sabalenka

Iga Swiatek defended her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix title with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Aryna Sabalenka on Sunday in Stuttgart, Germany.

13th career win for world No. 1; Carlos Alcaraz wins back-to-back titles in Barcelona

Women's athlete hits a backhand during a tennis title match.
Iga Swiatek of Poland is a repeat Porsche Tennis Grand Prix champion after defeating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in straight sets on Sunday in Stuttgart, Germany. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images))

Iga Swiatek defended her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix title with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Aryna Sabalenka in Stuttgart on Sunday.

Swiatek saved the only break point she faced and took two of her six opportunities to win her 13th title overall in one hour 50 minutes. It was her third successful title defence after Rome last year and Doha this year.

Sabalenka had reached the Stuttgart final for the third year in a row. She was beaten by the world No. 1 on each occasion, losing to Ashleigh Barty in 2021, then Swiatek last year and this.

This year the Belarussian was appearing as the world No. 2-ranked player. It was the first time the world's top two met in a WTA singles final since then-No. 2 Caroline Wozniacki defeated Simona Halep for the 2018 Australian Open title.

Alcaraz boasts 3 title victories this year

Alcaraz became the first player since Rafael Nadal to repeat as Barcelona Open champion with a comfortable 6-3, 6-4 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, securing his third title of the year and ninth of his impressive young career.

"Me and my team were talking before the match about staying relaxed," Alcaraz said. "To want to play the tough moments. Staying relaxed is the most important part for me. To forget the mistakes, everything, and be myself on court. Not to think about all the people watching, but just me, the court, the racket and the final."

It was the fifth consecutive straight-set win for the second-ranked Alcaraz at his home tournament this year. He is now 10-1 in Barcelona and has won his last 14 tour matches on Spanish soil.

"It's incredible to feel this energy, to lift the trophy here in Barcelona in front of all my people," said Alcaraz, who used to watch the tournament in the stands as a kid. "My family and my friends are here as well. To lift the trophy here in front of all of them is a great feeling."

The second-ranked Spaniard had not successfully defended a title in his career before Sunday. Nadal was the last player to win consecutive titles in Barcelona with three straight from 2016-18. Alcaraz will also try to defend his title at the upcoming Madrid Open.

He is now 23-2 for the year. His other titles this season came at Buenos Aires and Indian Wells.

Alcaraz was playing in his fourth final in five tournaments this year, winning it with 26 winners and seven unforced errors.

He and Tsitsipas exchanged breaks early in the first set but Alcaraz eventually took control to comfortably secure his fourth consecutive win over the fifth-ranked Greek. He had also beaten Tsitsipas in the Barcelona quarterfinals last year.

"I had the opportunity to see you a few years ago for the first time, I saw you play a little bit," Tsitsipas said of Alcaraz. "Some of us guys who were on the tour a little bit earlier than you, I think most of us were fascinated by your tennis … we see you as an example even though we are slightly older than you. We see your achievements as something that will hopefully push us to to do better."

The 24-year-old Tsitsipas was trying to win his first title in Barcelona after twice losing the final to Nadal in 2018 and 2021. He was looking for his first title of the year, and 10th of his career.

Rune shrugs off injuries

Holger Rune defended his BMW Open title with a hard-fought 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (3) win over Botic van de Zandschulp in the final on Sunday in Munich.

Van de Zandschulp retired from last year's final with an aching chest and the 19-year-old Rune was made to work significantly harder to retain the title, eventually sealing the win after nearly three hours of play.

Rune, who had previously never lost a set at the Munich event, had a problem with his upper right arm in the third set, but he managed to save four championship points and recover from twisting his ankle before dominating the tie-break.

It's Rune's fourth tour-level title.

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