Iga Swiatek will take over the world's number one position with a 6-4 6-0 victory against Naomi Osaka in the Miami Open final on Saturday, continuing her incredible winning streak. The Polish second seed did not drop a set in Miami, extending her winning streak to 17 matches. It dates back to her title run at the Qatar Open in February.
Swiatek, 20, becomes only the fourth woman to win both the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments in the same year, a feat dubbed as the "Sunshine Double" due to the tournaments' locations in California and Florida, respectively.
"It's amazing for me"- Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek, who also became the first woman to win the first three WTA 1000 tournaments in a season, remarked, "These weeks were so intense. I didn't really know if I would be able to keep up with the streak that I have."
"It's amazing for me that I could show mental toughness. Because my whole life I thought I could do more and sometimes I was losing and I didn't even know why. This season I feel like everything clicked so it's great and I am really happy," the Miami Open 2022 champion said whilst concluding.
Read more: Indian wells 2022: Iga Swiatek becomes the first Polish player to lift the trophy
The final showdown of the Miami Open 2022 in a nutshell
The match began with a dramatic seven-deuce opening game. Naomi Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam champion, saved two break points and blasted down four aces to retain serve. Afterwards, Swiatek broke Osaka with a superb crosscourt backhand winner to go ahead 3-2 in the first set and then went on to complete out the first set without facing a break point despite serving under 40%.
Read more: WTA Rankings: Poland's Iga Swiatek clinches the world number one spot in women's tennis
The former French Open champion stepped up her game in the second set, breaking Osaka three times to pull out to a 5-0 lead. She never looked back, winning the match on her first championship point when Osaka blasted a forehand wide. En route to the title, Iga Swiatek became the first woman since Victoria Azarenka in 2016 to complete the "Sunshine Double". Other women who have achieved this feat are Kim Clijsters (2005) and Steffi Graf (1994, 1996).