Iga Swiatek won the Madrid Open for the first time in a final worthy of everyone's attention but admitted she was "too tired" to speak during the trophy ceremony.
She could be forgiven for that after outlasting Aryna Sabalenka in over three hours of world-class tennis between the world's top two players. It was a rematch of last year's final. It could be argued it followed the same script, but the outcome was different.
Swiatek looked unbeatable during the fortnight and saved three match points to triumph in a deciding third-set tie-break. It was her 20th career title, and she became the first player, male or female, born in the 21st century to achieve this milestone.
The Word No. 1 is a self-proclaimed introvert who previously shared her struggles of speaking to people during her teenage years. But she has assembled the right team to help her strike a balance between dealing with fame and success and her off-court personality.
During the trophy presentation, a fatigued Swiatek babbled her words before regaining her coolness under pressure with a humorous speech, thanking the tournament and its organizers and apologizing to the ball kids for her insolent behavior on the court.
"I want to thank my family who's watching, my sponsors, tournament sponsors, everybody who’s making this tournament possible. Also, volunteers, ball kids, sorry for the mean faces sometimes."
"And thank you guys [fans], sorry I’m too tired, thank you for watching until the end and for amazing atmosphere. It’s always pleasure to be back in Madrid so I’ll be already looking forward for next year and yeah."
Swiatek also thanked the fans for sticking around throughout the three hours and promised to return to Madrid in 12 months to defend her crown. The Pole will head to Rome looking to complete the Madrid-Italian Open double, last achieved by Serena Williams in 2013.
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