Swiatek beats Osaka to win Miami Open
Becomes the first woman to win the first three WTA 1,000 tournaments of the year
April 04, 2022 00:00:00
MIAMI GARDENS: Poland's Iga Swiatek poses with her trophy after winning the women's single finals at the 2022 Miami Open against Naomi Osaka here on Saturday — AFP
MIAMI, Apr 03 (AFP): Iga Swiatek's dream season continued as the incoming world number one scooped her third successive WTA 1000 title to beat Naomi Osaka in the Miami Open final on Saturday.
The Polish 20-year-old became 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 with a 6-4, 6-0 win over Osaka.
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 ended in a comprehensive defeat.
"I feel privileged to be among those players who have done this double before, I knew it would be tough playing these tournaments in a row but I took it step by step," said Swiatek, who won her maiden Grand Slam at the French Open in 2020 as a 19-year-old and will be the favorite to win another Roland Garros crown next month on her favored surface.