The first Tennis 1000 series event on clay for men and women in 2023 wrapped up this past weekend in Madrid, Spain. In the women’s final on Saturday, second ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus beat the number one seed, Iga Swaiatek of Poland, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Then in the men’s final on Sunday, first ranked Carlos Alcaraz of Spain defeated the unseeded Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.
Sabalenka won her 13th WTA title and third win of 2023. She was also victorious at the 2023 Adelaide International and the 2023 Australian Open.
This was also Sabalenka’s second title in Spain. She previously won the 2021 Madrid Masters. That year Sabalenka also beat the first player in the world in three sets in the final. Sabalenka beat Australian Ashleigh Barty 6-0, 3-6, 6-4.
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You do not always get the top two players in the world, and when you get them it is an absolute treat. Sabalenka and Swiatek also went the distance, which brought added appeal. This was Sabalenka’s third career win over Swiatek in eight meetings. Sabalenka’s two prior wins over Swatek came in the WTA Finals–in 2021 in Guadalajara, Mexico, and in 2022 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The fact that Alcaraz won the men’s final, was no surprise at all. The fact that Struff took a set was a little surprising, but testament to the quality of tennis he exemplified all week. This was Alcaraz’s 10th ATP title, and second straight Madrid Masters. Ironically, Alacaraz defeated a German last year in the final too as he beat Alexander Zverev, 6-3, 6-1. Alcaraz also played Zverev in Madrid this year and had no problem as he was victorious 6-1, 6-2 in the third round.
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