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- Swiatek beats Sabalenka to seal Italian hat-trick
Swiatek beats Sabalenka to seal Italian hat-trick
Iga Swiatek stormed to her third Italian Open title after a dominant 6-2 6-3 victory over Aryna Sabalenka.
The world No.1 took less than an hour-and-a-half to deny the world No.2 and complete a hat-trick of triumphs in Rome.
The pair was contesting a second final in as many WTA Tour events, with Swiatek saving three championship points before eventually prevailing in the Madrid Open showpiece a fortnight ago.
However, it was one-way traffic this time around. The Pole converted two out of three break points as she controlled the opening set.
Sabalenka is the most recent player to deny Swiatek in a WTA final, at last year's Madrid Open.
But the No.2 seed was helpless as her opponent broke again in game seven of the second set in Rome, before wrapping up a fourth title of the season ahead of the French Open later this month.
Landing her third Italian Open title before turning 23, Swiatek is only the second player to achieve that feat after Gabriela Sabatini.
At 22 years and 352 days old, she is the youngest player to win 10 WTA 1000 titles since the introduction of the format in 2009.
The Pole also became the third player to triumph in Madrid and Rome during the same season, after Dinara Safina (2009) and Serena Williams (2013).