Swiatek faces Sabalenka for title after Jabeur retires

Iga Swiatek will play Aryna Sabalenka in the Stuttgart Open final for the second straight year after Ons Jabeur retired due to injury against the world number one yesterday.Swiatek was leading 3-0 in the first set of the semi-final when Jabeur pulled out with a calf problem."The third point, I don’t know what happened,” said Jabeur, who briefly tried to carry on after calling a medical timeout after the opening game."I don’t know what Ons’ situation is, but I really respect the fact that she came out and she tried and she wanted to see how it’s going to go,” said Swiatek."I told her we’re probably going to play the Roland Garros final, so we’ll see each other there. She’s a fighter, so she’s going to be back quick. I just hope it’s nothing serious.”Reigning French and US Open champion Swiatek will attempt to defend her Stuttgart title today in a repeat of last year’s final."Aryna is a great player and she’s in great shape,” Swiatek said. "I have to be ready to play my best tennis. For sure, this surface is - we both like clay court - but it’s a little bit faster than most of the clay courts. I’m gonna have to be ready on my return and just for the fast pace.”Earlier yesterday, the second-ranked Sabalenka defeated Anastasia Potapova in straight sets to reach her third successive final in the German city."Last year I was struggling a lot with a lot of things, especially my serve,” Sabalenka said. "This year I feel like a different player, different person right now. So I feel I’m much calmer on court.”The Australian Open champion dominated her opponent, winning 6-1, 6-2 to keep herself on course for a third title this year. Sabalenka finished runner-up in Stuttgart each of the past two years, losing the 2021 final to Ashleigh Barty. Reflecting on her return from a 45-day break from competition due to a rib injury, Swiatek said she couldn’t be happier with how she has handled the week in Stuttgart."I’m happy with everything, honestly,” Swiatek said. "Even yesterday’s match [against Pliskova], even though the beginning wasn’t easy, second set and third set I played much better and I improved then. That was a great experience to have. The first one against Qinwen as well."I’m just happy that I can play good tennis, even though I wasn’t practising a lot and even though my break was pretty long. I’m happy that I could just be here and enjoy this. Honestly, I have only positive thoughts,” she said.