World number 1 Iga Swiatek cruised past Aryna Sabalenka 6-2 6-1 to reach her fifth consecutive final this season at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.
Swiatek has extended her winning streak to 27 consecutive matches and has won 40 of her past 41 sets. Serena Williams won 27 matches in a row from the WTA Finals through the Madrid Mutua Open in 2015.
Swiatek won four titles this year in Doha, Indian Wells, Miami and Stuttgart. The Polish player is the first player since Simona Halep in 2017 to reach four WTA 1000 finals. She has dropped just 17 games en route to the Rome final. Only Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters and Martina Hingis have lost fewer sets.
Swiatek scored straight-set wins over Sabalenka en route to two of her titles in 2022, in the semifinals of Doha and in the final in Stuttgart.
Swiatek earned an early break in the opening game. Sabalenka broke straight back to draw level to 1-1, but Swiatek broke for the second game to open up a 3-1 lead. Sabalenka made 16 unforced errors to just 3 winners in the first set. Swiatek hit five winners to 6 unforced errors and sealed the first set 6-2 in 31 minutes.
Swiatek raced out to a 4-0 lead before Sabalenka stopped her streak of seven consecutive games. Sabalenka received a medical time-out during the changeover when she trailed 1-4 down. Swiatek held on her serve and broke for the sixth time to close out the second set 6-1.
Swiatek is 6-1 against top 10 rivals in 2022 and extended her winning streak to 30-0 at WTA 1000 tournaments when she won the first set. She lost only to Ashleigh Barty in Adelaide in 2022.
