Incoming World Number One Iga Swiatek Beats Osaka To Win Miami Open

3rd April 2022

The Polish star has now become only the fourth and youngest player to win the “Sunshine Double” of Indian Wells and Miami in the same year following Steffi Graf, Kim Cljisters and Victoria Azarenka

Iga Swiatek of Poland holds a trophy as she wins against Naomi Osaka of Japan in the finals of the women's singles at the Miami Open at the Hard Rock Stadium on April 02, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. PHOTO | AFP
Iga Swiatek of Poland holds a trophy as she wins against Naomi Osaka of Japan in the finals of the women's singles at the Miami Open at the Hard Rock Stadium on April 02, 2022 in Miami Gardens, Florida. PHOTO | AFP
SUMMARY
  • The new world number one Iga Swiatek continued her remarkable run as she beat Naomi Osaka in the final to win the Miami Open on Saturday
  • The 20-year old's dream season continued as she scooped her third successive WTA 1000 title in a comprehensive 6-4, 6-0 defeat.
  • Osaka, 24, enjoyed a welcome return to form in Florida even if the four-time Grand Slam champion’s first final since the Australian Open in 2021

The new world number one Iga Swiatek continued her remarkable run as she beat Naomi Osaka in the final to win the Miami Open on Saturday.

The 20-year old's dream season continued as she scooped her third successive WTA 1000 title in a comprehensive 6-4, 6-0 defeat.

The Polish star has now become only the fourth and youngest player to win the “Sunshine Double” of Indian Wells and Miami in the same year following Steffi Graf, Kim Cljisters and Victoria Azarenka.

Swiatek, who will be formally confirmed as world number one when the new WTA rankings are announced on Monday, has now won 17 straight games, a winning streak that includes titles in Doha, Indian Wells and now Miami.

Osaka, 24, enjoyed a welcome return to form in Florida even if the four-time Grand Slam champion’s first final since the Australian Open in 2021.

Swiatek headed into a sixth career final on the back of 16 straight wins — the last player to win 16 or more in a row was Osaka who was on fire between Cincinnati in 2020 and last year’s Miami Open.

Their only previous meeting in 2019 ended with a straight sets win for Osaka over an 18-year-old Swiatek.

Osaka has been serving well this tournament and hit an impressive 18 aces in her semi-final win over Belinda Bencic but was broken by Swiatek to make it 3-2 in the first and began to look susceptible.

The former French Open champion is one of the finest returners in the women’s game and even though Osaka was attempting to aggressively jump upon Swiatek’s second serve, her opponent was far more consistent and clinical overall.