World No.1 Iga Swiatek collected her eighth title of the year with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 win over Croatia’s Donna Vekic in the San Diego Open final on Sunday.
Swiatek pumped her fist and blew a kiss to the crowd after Vekic double faulted on match point to cap a third set where the Pole raised her level and tournament qualifier Vekic appeared to finally run out of gas. “I wanted to go all in,” Swiatek said of her approach going into the deciding set of the new WTA 500 event.
“Knowing how well she can serve, I just wanted to be more loosened up on my return games. Not think too much, use my intuition and fight for every ball.”
There was a moment of controversy in the second set when Vekic had her only break point of the match at 3-2, 15-40. After returning a shot at the net, Swiatek put both her hands in the air, giving the impression that she was trying to distract her opponent. Vekic, however, ultimately won the point.
Swiatek’s stunt was criticised on Twitter, with fans demanding that any player indulging in such acts should be given warnings and even be penalised.
In the decider, Swiatek fired a crosscourt winner to break for a 2-0 lead that shifted momentum firmly in her favour.
Swiatek, who rose to world No.1 in April following Australian Ashleigh Barty’s retirement, is now 64-8 for the season.
The 21-year-old won the US Open and French Open this year and will be the hot favourite when the WTA Finals kick off in Fort Worth, Texas, on October 31.
