MIAMI: 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 Clijsters 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.
Swiatek headed into a seventh career final on the back of 16 straight wins — the last player to win 16 or more in a row was Osaka, between Cincinnati in 2020 and last year’s Miami Open.
Osaka has been serving well this tournament but was broken by Swiatek to make it 3-2 in the first and began to look vulnerable.
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.
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