Aryna Sabalenka, a day after her 25th birthday, credited her Madrid Open win on Saturday to the birthday cake given to her by the organizers. The current Australian Open champion triumphed over top-seeded Iga Swiatek, securing her second Madrid title in a thrilling three-set match.
Controversial Birthday Cake Incident
On Friday, both Sabalenka and men’s World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz celebrated their birthdays. Nevertheless, it didn’t go unnoticed that Alcaraz received a larger, tiered cake, while Sabalenka was presented with a smaller one. The disparity prompted criticisms from fellow tennis pros Victoria Azarenka and Bianca Andreescu. During her on-court interview following the match, Sabalenka jokingly praised the tournament organizers for the cake, stating: “I think it’s all because of yesterday’s cake. It was too good.”
Victory Over Swiatek
Sabalenka achieved her first clay court victory over Swiatek after four attempts, and just two weeks after losing the Stuttgart final. The Belarusian player snatched the opening set before World No. 1 Swiatek pushed back, leading to an intense match that saw Sabalenka secure the win on her fourth championship point. Sabalenka expressed her gratitude for the challenging match, stating, “It’s always tough battles against each other. You always push me to the limit. I hope we’re going to keep playing many more times this season.”
Impressive 2023 Season
With her latest win, Sabalenka improved her head-to-head record against Swiatek to 3-5 and has a remarkable 29-4 record for the 2023 season. It is also worth noting that Sabalenka’s first Madrid title two years ago came against then-reigning World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty. The Belarusian’s second Madrid win puts her nearly 1600 points ahead of No. 7 Elena Rybakina and around 1900 points behind Swiatek in the race for the year-end WTA No. 1 spot.
