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Despite suffering a defeat on clay in the Madrid Open final, World No.1 Iga Swiatek remains inspired and motivated as she builds on a growling rivalry with No.2 Aryna Sabalenka.
Swiatek suffered a rare loss on clay when she fell to World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final on Saturday, but the Polish player is keeping her fortnight in perspective following the year's first WTA 1000 clay-court event. "We just played on a good level, but [Sabalenka] was better today. Maybe sometimes I could be more proactive, but honestly, I think we both played good. I don't have any big regrets," WTA.com quoted Swiatek as saying in her post-match press conference. Swiatek still boasts a superb 27-2 win-loss record on clay since the beginning of 2022, with her only loss coming to Caroline Garcia in the 2022 Warsaw quarterfinals. "Sometimes it's tougher, sometimes it's easier. That's why we have variety in tennis, and that's why sometimes players are playing better on some surfaces and some on different [surfaces]. But it doesn't really matter because she won, and I just respect that and I don't want to take it from Aryna," Swiatek said. Despite not winning the championship, Swiatek had a career-best performance in her second outing in Madrid. At the event, she has only lost to Sabalenka and former World No.1 Ashleigh Barty. "I think [the final] was really tight, and it was a matter of kind of a few centimetres, you know, and sometimes it's in, sometimes it's out. But I did my best to keep the intensity and still keep the control here. Maybe next year I'm gonna know better if I can do even more or not, but for sure I did 100 per cent of what I could, so no regrets," Swiatek said. "I think [the final] was really tight, and it was a matter of kind of a few centimetres, you know, and sometimes it's in, sometimes it's out," Swiatek said. "But I did my best to keep the intensity and still keep the control here. Maybe next year I'm gonna know better if I can do even more or not, but for sure I did 100 per cent of what I could, so no regrets," she added. No.1 Swiatek and No.2 Sabalenka contested their second straight final after Swiatek won their showdown in Stuttgart two weeks ago, cementing their rivalry as the one to watch for the remainder of the clay-court season. The first WTA 1000 final between the top two players in the rankings since No.1 was held in Madrid. Serena Williams won the 2014 Miami Open over No. 2 Li Na. "Me and Aryna, I feel like we're just hard workers. I know that she's super professional as well in terms of fitness and other stuff, and we're kind of progressing no matter if we're on top or not, so I think that's why we are kind of solid," Swiatek said. Swiatek will retain her World No. 1 place in Monday's new standings, though Sabalenka is closing the distance. Regardless, Swiatek continues to recognise successes outside of rankings to motivate herself. "People are saying it's tough to get to the top, but staying at the top is even tougher. I don't know, I haven't lived enough to know if that's true or not. It's just a matter of not thinking about that you're gonna stay here, but it's more like reaching to other stuff that can motivate you and that you can do better, no matter what position you're in," Swiatek said. (ANI)
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