The world No 1 Iga Swiatek moved into the Stuttgart Open final on Saturday after her opponent Ons Jabeur retired injured three games into the first set. The Pole will face Aryna Sabalenka in a repeat of last year’s final after the Belarusian’s comfortable straight-sets victory over Anastasia Potapova.
Jabeur was on a seven-match winning run after recovering from surgery earlier this year but appeared to hurt herself during the last point of the first game. Fresh from her title win in Charleston earlier in the month, the world No 4 took a medical timeout but after playing on with her left calf bandaged for two more games she decided to stop with Swiatek 3-0 up.
“I really tried, but at that point I don’t know what happened,” said a tearful Jabeur. “I was excited to play Iga and seeing that the stadium is full. I am sorry about it.”
Sabalenka needed just 58 minutes to storm into her third straight Stuttgart final with a 6-1, 6-2 demolition of Potapova. The reigning Australian Open champion, who last year lost to Swiatek, broke her opponent twice to race into a 4-0 lead.
Potapova was playing catch-up throughout and looked vulnerable on her weak second serve. She was equally helpless in the second set with Sabalenka breaking early again and taking the first eight points. The world No 2 then raced back from 30-0 down with a string of big serves at 5-2 to finish off the game and reach her fourth final of the year.
Quick Guide
How do I sign up for sport breaking news alerts?
Show
- Download the Guardian app from the iOS App Store on iPhone or the Google Play store on Android by searching for ‘The Guardian’.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you’re on the most recent version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the Menu button at the bottom right, then go to Settings (the gear icon), then Notifications.
- Turn on sport notifications.
Carlos Alcaraz reached the final of the Barcelona Open after beating Dan Evans 6-2, 6-2 to set up a showdown with Stefanos Tsitsipas, who defeated the Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.
Alcaraz, who had an injury-plagued start to the season and was beaten in the semi-final of last week’s Miami Open by Jannik Sinner, was unstoppable against the Briton, even as he appeared to be conserving his energy for the claycourt season.
after newsletter promotion
The 19-year-old Spaniard broke early in the first set and closed it 6-2 in 38 minutes. He raced to 4-1 in the second and beat Evans in 80 minutes to reach the final in Barcelona for the second consecutive year.
Tsitsipas had a more complicated challenge against Musetti, surrendering a break in the third game. However, the Greek managed to fight back and clinch the first set 6-4 after winning three consecutive games.
Tsitsipas quickly moved to 5-3 and had the opportunity to serve for the match, but collapsed under pressure, allowing Musetti to fight back and win the second set 7-5.
Musetti came close to a break point in the first game of the decisive set, but Tsitsipas kept his composure and went on to comfortably close out the match.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic has pulled out of next week’s Madrid Open, the world No 1 joining Rafael Nadal on the sidelines. Djokovic, who was unable to play in the US hardcourt swing earlier this year because he has not been vaccinated against Covid, was preparing for the clay season but got knocked out early at the Monte Carlo Masters and Banja Luka Open.