Iga Swiatek predicted many more battles to come with Ons Jabeur after beating her in the US Open final on Saturday.
The World No.1 cemented her status as the dominant figure in women’s tennis with a 6-2 7-6 (7-5) to seal the season’s final Grand Slam title.
In doing so, Swiatek moved ahead of Jabeur in the head-to-head record of meetings between the two, having won three of their five clashes.
While the top seed was swinging freely, barely missing a first serve and making every return, Jabeur was struggling with all those things and won only two points in the first three games.
She steadied herself and broke Swiatek back with four clean winners but the tide quickly turned again.
Jabeur is at her best when she can express her vibrant personality, teasing opponents with drop shots and clever touches at the net, but the pace and accuracy of Swiatek’s ball was keeping her pinned behind the baseline.
The drop shots she did try felt like desperate moves and mostly landed in the net, while her serve, which has been a strong weapon this fortnight, was not working either.
Remarkably, Swiatek breaks serve in more than half of the return games she plays and Jabeur’s frustration increased as the Pole moved ahead at the start of the second set.
It appeared little more than a glimmer of hope when Jabeur saved break points at 3-0. But, with Swiatek seemingly unsettled by repeated shouts from the crowd, the Pole’s level began to drop.
Jabeur fought back to level at 4-4 and, had she taken any of the three break points she created in the next game, the contest might well have gone to a decider.
But Swiatek held on and, despite missing a match point at 5-6, converted her second chance in the tie-break.
She collapsed to the court after Jabeur’s final shot flew long and was in tears as she celebrated with her team.
"I’m just not expecting a lot, especially before this tournament, it was such a challenging time. Coming back after winning a grand slam is always tricky," Swiatek said.
"For sure this tournament was really challenging. It’s New York, it’s so loud, so crazy. I’m so proud that I could handle it mentally."
Turning to Jabeur, the Pole said: "I know this is already a pretty nice rivalry. I’m pretty sure we’re going to have many more and that you’re going to win some of them so don’t worry."
A rueful looking Jabeur said: "I want to thank the crowd for cheering me up. I really tried but Iga didn’t make it easy for me. She deserved to win today. I don’t like her very much right now but it’s OK.
"An amazing two weeks, backing up my final in Wimbledon. I’m going to keep working hard and we’ll get that title sometime soon.
"I try to push myself to do more. Hopefully I can inspire more and more generations. This is just the beginning of so many things."
