US Open 2022, Final, Saturday, 10.09.2022
It’s that time in New York, the big weekend is upon us: who will win the US Open 2022? The women take the first step in terms of finals, playing their final on Saturday evening, German time at 22:00.
A constellation has emerged that does not really come as a surprise. On the one hand, the world number 1 is in this final, on the other hand, someone who already came very close to her first Grand Slam triumph in Wimbledon.
If you look around Betano, it is the best player in the world who has her nose in front. However, there is no such thing as a blatant outsider in this pairing. Therefore, in my Swiatek Jabeur tip, I now reveal why I expect a very close match!
Iga Swiatek was considered the top favourite for the title from day one, so the 21-year-old had to deal with that pressure from match one. A few months ago, she would have preferred to receive the trophy by post.
The young Pole won five titles in a row, including several Masters, and she was also unstoppable at the French Open. Once she dropped a set, the news almost made the front pages.
She not only beat her competitors, she almost dismantled them. Until Wimbledon came along. Nobody really saw the 3rd round exit against Alize Cornet coming with an emphatic 4-6, 2-6.
Swiatek was the talk of the town again, but this time not in a positive way. In the following three tournaments she had not yet recovered from that defeat, also failing very early in Cincinnati to Madison Keys.
The self-image of victory, it had been lost. All the more impressive is what Swiatek is now playing in New York. In her first three rounds, she had no trouble at all in straight wins, but neither did she face the toughest opponents.
But in the round of 16 she was lucky that Jule Niemeier could not use her big chance. In the end, the victory went to Poland 2-6, 6-4, 6-0. Against Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals, the smooth success was back by 6-3, 7-6.
Finally, Swiatek faced the strong Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka. She lost the first set 3-6, but then the world No. 1 showed similar qualities as she had shown against Niemeier before.
She bit her way back into the match, coming back to win 6-1, 6-4 and set up her first final at the US Open. She gave up at least ten break chances in her last three matches, will she be allowed to do the same in the final?
Swiatek knows that Jabeur can be an extremely unpleasant opponent. The score is 2:2 in the direct duel! Swiatek won the final in Rome this year by a clear margin, but the Tunisian triumphed twice in 2021.
With odds of 1.45 to 2.60, the German betting companies have nevertheless opted for the world number 1. Knowing full well that a fighting Ons Jabeur should never be written off.
A few weeks ago in Wimbledon she missed her big chance, losing the final to Elena Rybakina. Much like Swiatek, she lost some of her form afterwards, retiring early a few times, most recently in Cincinnati.
But there is hardly any sign of these insecurities in New York. Against Shelby Rogers in the 3rd round she dropped her only set, otherwise she came through the tournament smoothly.
It was a close call against Veronika Kudermetova and Ajla Tomljanovic at 6-4, 7-6, but in the semi-finals Jabeur served very confidently at 6-1, 6-3 against Caroline Garcia.
Iga Swiatek might have wanted an easier opponent for her final, Ons Jabeur doesn’t seem too far inferior to her. Both players are putting in great performances in New York, although Swiatek has been more unbeatable before.
It is no longer unusual for her to drop sets, but Jabeur has not won a single one at this US Open. So it is difficult for me to name a favourite in my analysis.
In the end, I think we are in for a high-class match. Swiatek had to chase a deficit twice already, Jabeur can exploit this weakness at the beginning. Anyway, my tip is:
We see more than 19.5 games!
