Flawless Swiatek powers past Samsonova to claim Beijing title
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Iga Swiatek beat Samsonova 6-2 6-2 in the China Open final on Sunday.
BEIJING (Reuters) - World number two Iga Swiatek eased to a WTA Tour-leading fifth title this year by crushing unseeded Russian Liudmila Samsonova 6-2 6-2 in the China Open final on Sunday to tighten her battle with Aryna Sabalenka for the year-end number one spot.
Swiatek shed tears of joy after her 69-minute masterclass, which left the four-times Grand Slam champion 465 points behind the top-ranked Sabalenka and with a big chance to leapfrog the Belarusian at the WTA Finals in Cancun, Mexico.
The season finale, where the top eight singles players and doubles teams in the world face off, begins on Oct. 29.
Beijing debutant Swiatek was handed the first break of the clash in the sixth game when Samsonova produced a double fault and the 22-year-old then wrapped up the opening set without committing a single unforced error.
Swiatek's superb serve proved to be her biggest ally as she never faced a break point and raced ahead 4-1 in the second set before completing the win with ease for her 16th title overall as Samsonova made another error at the net.
French Open champion Swiatek also became the first player since American Serena Williams to claim five or more titles in successive seasons.
Williams managed the feat in 2014 and 2015.
The victory capped a strong showing for four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek, who was deposed as the world's top-ranked player by Aryna Sabalenka last month.
The 22-year-old broke Samsonova's serve in the sixth game and sealed the opening set when the unseeded Russian slammed a forehand into the net.
Swiatek looked assured throughout and quickly notched another break in set two when her error-prone opponent fired another forehand wide.
And when Samsonova sent an ill-advised drop-shot into the net to hand her the victory, the Pole doubled over with emotion before a delighted crowd.
"For sure, this is really big for me. Winning this title is something I never would have thought at the beginning of the tournament," Swiatek said at a post-match news conference.
"(It) will give me confidence... that there's always a chance to overcome and work on what you do or what you're feeling," she said.
"You can always get better and sometimes it's pretty easy, but we pretend to make it more complicated in our heads," she added.
"I'm really happy that I just focused on hard work and it paid off -- maybe not instantly, but I'm happy that after the US Open I just got back to basics and just worked really hard tennis-wise."
'SHE DOESN'T MAKE ERRORS'
Swiatek was the favourite to win the final after handing US Open champion Coco Gauff her first defeat in 17 matches in the final four on Saturday.
Sabalenka had been knocked out in the quarter-finals by fifth-ranked Elena Rybakina, who was in turn dumped out by Samsonova in the other semi-final.
Ranked 22nd, Samsonova had racked up a string of impressive victories against higher-ranked players but the result of Sunday's final rarely looked in doubt.
The 24-year-old said after the match that Swiatek's sheer consistency -- she barely made a mistake of note -- had been a source of "stress".
"This is the stress that she (puts on) other players, that she doesn't make unforced errors," Samsonova said.
"Every time, you need to do something more... It's not real, what you feel, but she makes you feel like this," she added.
"Me, I was playing some points very well, and others a disaster. That was the difference, I think."
FIRST IN FOUR YEARS
The match brought to a close the first China Open since 2019, after Beijing lifted onerous travel restrictions that formed part of a longtime policy to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
It was also the first time the women's tournament had taken place since the international governing body announced the end of an embargo imposed on China following sexual assault allegations by former player Peng Shuai.
The Women's Tennis Association had withdrawn from the country after Peng accused a top Communist Party official of forcing her into sex, but the overlap with Beijing's zero-Covid strategy meant its ban was largely symbolic.
The men's tournament wrapped up on Wednesday when Italy's Jannik Sinner beat world number three Daniil Medvedev to take the trophy.
