On a strange night at the Foro Italico, things didn’t always go quite as expected between Aryna Sabalenka and Danielle Collins.
Sabalenka, the most brutal ball-striker in the women’s game, briefly turned touch artist. Collins, who bows to no one in her mental and emotional intensity, was eerily becalmed. And as hopes of a gladiatorial contest gave way to a more prosaic reality, so the murmur of expectation that initially soundtracked the occasion slowly died, to be replaced by the odd ripple of polite applause.
But if the sixth meeting between two of the fiercest competitors in the women’s game was a far cry from their blood-and-thunder collision last month in Madrid, the bottom line remained the same, Sabalenka prevailing 7-5, 6-2 to maintain her unbeaten record against the American and earn a place in the Italian Open final.
Awaiting the second-seeded Belarusian will be Iga Swiatek, whose 6-4, 6-3 win over Coco Gauff was more a case of business as usual. Through to her third final in four years in Rome, the Polish world No 1 has now won 10 of her 11 meetings with Gauff in straight sets. Swiatek is yet to drop a set over the fortnight, and is also riding an 11-match unbeaten streak that began with her title run at the Madrid Open, where she claimed an epic three-set victory over Sabalenka after saving three championship points.
While Swiatek has made serene progress, Sabalenka’s path to the second Saturday has been strewn with obstacles. Aside from the inevitable mental and emotional hangover that followed her defeat in the Spanish capital, the 26-year-old Belarusian arrived in Rome suffering from illness. She flirted with disaster in her opening match against Katie Volynets, an American qualifier ranked 109, and a couple of rounds later she suffered a back injury in an otherwise cathartic victory over Elina Svitolina in which she fended off three match points.
“After Madrid, I didn’t feel great,” said Sabalenka, who was taken to a deciding set in all but one of her six matches at the event. “I had illness, then I got injured. I [was] kind of surprised that, even [with] so much stuff going on, I was able to make it to the [Rome] final.
“At the same time, I knew that the level was there. If I start feeling better, I can go to the finals. So it’s like 50/50, you know? But that match [against Swiatek] definitely hurt me. It was a really tough loss, especially after having some match points, even though she played great tennis.
“Hopefully, here in Rome, I can get the win and get the title.”
If she continues to channel her inner Ons Jabeur as she did against Collins, Sabalenka will do her chances no harm. Under pressure on serve in the third game, she unexpectedly leavened the mix with a delicate, angled forehand drop shot that left Collins stranded behind the baseline. Another followed two games later, this time from the backhand. Vicious power remains the bedrock of her game, but such variety could offer a useful extra dimension against Swiatek, who was certainly driven to distraction by Yulia Putintseva’s drop shots in the third round. Just don’t expect her to opt for finesse if she gets a match point again.
“I’ll trust myself and go for shots instead of trying to keep in the point, just keep the ball back in,” said Sabalenka. “Instead of playing safe, I would just go for it.”
Swiatek, meanwhile, appears to have left Madrid with more than just the trophy. Only once previously had she contested a final-set tiebreak at tour level, and the one she played at the Caja Mágica was her first in a final. But having come through the experience, she has looked all the stronger for it.
It is not unusual for Swiatek to advance to a final without dropping a set, even at this rarefied level, yet she has shown impressive resilience at the Foro Italico. After dropping the opening set, Putintseva was a point away from taking a 5-1 lead against her. Angelique Kerber led 2-0 in the second set after saving seven set points in the first. Gauff too started strongly, claiming an early break with a delicious topspin lob. But Swiatek rebounded on each occasion, playing with a calmness and self-belief that have not always been evident in moments of high stress.
“I think [the Madrid final] gave me confidence that I can win even though I’m not feeling the best way or I’m stressed at the beginning,” said Swiatek. “I can still get the score back.
“Maybe I’m less worried before matches because I know even if I’m going to be in trouble, I’ll be able to recover from it maybe if I’m going to work hard. This is the kind of feeling that I have.”
The benefits of that mindset were clear in the Pole’s outstanding quarter-final victory against Madison Keys, where she saved all 10 break points she faced. Yet, whatever her performance in Madrid may have given her, the 22-year-old is focused only on the here and now as she prepares to lock horns with Sabalenka again.
“I don’t think it makes sense to think about these two matches as one continuing story, because [it’s a] totally different tournament,” said Swiatek. “Different week, as well. It’s not like it’s going to be the same. I’ll try to be in the present, not really think about Madrid.
“It’s a totally different story.”
A fortnight after one of the most dramatic and compelling finals in recent years, many will be hoping otherwise.