Iga Swiatek wins San Diego Open, breaks these records
World number one Iga Swiatek downed qualifier Donna Vekic 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 to claim the women's singles title at the San Diego Open. The top seed seized her eighth title of the season, while it was her 11th career title overall. She now enjoys a whopping 24-1 win-loss record on US soil in 2022. Here are the records broken by Swiatek.
Key stats from the match
The game lasted an hour and 47 minutes. Swiatek fired three aces to Vekic's solitary. She converted four of her six break points and grabbed a total of 77 points. She claimed a 71% win on her first serve in contrast to Vekic (67%). Notably, Swiatek didn't commit a single double fault during the entire duel, while Vekic conceded three of those.
A look at Swiatek's journey
Swiatek prevailed against China's Qinwen Zheng 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in R16. She thumped American Coco Gauff 6-0, 6-3 in the quarter-finals. She staged a comeback to beat fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 in the semi-finals. And lastly, she overcame Vekic in the finale.
Swiatek has won eight titles in 2022
Swiatek has now won eight titles in 2022, having earlier sealed six straight honors in a 37-match winning run. She started her dominating run of form by winning the Qatar Open. She claimed the Indian Wells title, dropping three sets in total. The Miami Open and Stuttgart Open followed suit. She claimed the Italian Open, French Open, US Open, and later San Diego Open.
Swiatek smashes these records
Swiatek stamped her 64th tour-level win of the season (64-8). She had earlier equaled the 2016 total of Angelique Kerber for the most WTA Tour victories in the past six years (63). As per WTA, the three-time Slam winner now has the most wins in a single season (including WTA Tour events and Billie Jean King Cup play) since Serena Williams' 78 in 2013.
Ninth final of the season for Swiatek
Swiatek concluded her ninth final of the season with an 8-1 record. She lost the 2022 Ostrava Open final to Barbora Krejcikova last week. Swiatek was beaten in three sets by Krejcikova. She lost 7-5, 6-7, 3-6. Throughout her career, Swiatek is 11-2 in WTA Tour singles finals. Previously, her only loss came against Polona Hercog in 2019 Lugano.
Swiatek extends her lead over Vekic
Swiatek now boasts a perfect 3-0 win-loss record against Vekic in WTA match-ups. The Polish ace had bested her rival in straight sets at the Australian Open and Qatar Total Open in 2020. And now, a three-set triumph in San Diego.
Vekic's dominating run comes to an end
Post comfortable wins in two qualifying matches, Vekic commanded four-straight wins over the Top 25 players in the main draw. She bested fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari 7-6(3), 6-1 in R32. She then defeated Karolina Pliskova 6-3, 6-2, followed by a three-set win over Aryna Sabalenka. She beat Danielle Collins 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(2) in a rail-delayed semi-final before losing to Swiatek in the final summit clash.
