World No 1 Iga Swiatek saved three championship points to dethrone Aryna Sabalenka in a 7-5 4-6 7-6 (9-7) classic at the Madrid Open on Saturday.

Sabalenka had won the 2023 final in three sets but it was Swiatek who triumphed this time to secure her 20th career title and deny the Belarusian a third title on the red clay of the Spanish capital.

The match was the first contest of the season between the top two in the women’s rankings and it lived up to expectations, going down as the longest encounter between the two Grand Slam champions at three hours and 11 minutes.

“Aryna… to many more finals… it’s always a challenge playing you,” said four-time Grand Slam champion, Swiatek in her on-court interview.

“Thanks for motivating me and forcing me to be a better player. I want to thank my team. I’ve had pretty nice speeches before so I don’t know what else to say to make it feel special. But I think what you saw on court was pretty special anyway.

“Thank you for sticking with me through the ups and downs. For understanding and motivating me because without you I wouldn’t be here. I hope we’re gonna continue progressing. That’s the most important thing at the end. I want to thank my family who’s watching.”

Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka said: “Congrats Iga on another great tournament. You did an incredible job. Hopefully next year it goes to me. Three hours. That’s a long one! Hopefully we recover fast for the next tournament.”

Social media reaction to epic final

‘Phenomenal tennis’

“The quality they were able to display for over three hours was phenomenal. That was high-quality stuff,” said Anne Keothavong on Sky Sports Tennis.

“It was a gutsy performance from both players.”

What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?

In the run-up to the second Grand Slam of 2024 – the French Open at Roland Garros from May 26 – you can watch all of the biggest tennis stars in action live on Sky Sports as they compete across the clay-court season.

• Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (ATP and WTA Masters 1000) – May 7-19
• Geneva Open (ATP 250) – May 20-26
• Lyon Open (ATP 250) – May 20-26
• Internationaux de Strasbourg (WTA 500 with Emma Raducanu in action) – May 20-26
• Morocco Open (WTA 250) – May 20-26

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