Despite leading her Cincinnati Open final opponent, Jasmine Paolini, 5-0 in head-to-head battles, Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek didn’t take anything for granted. Before her maiden summit clash at the WTA 1000 event, the Pole said, “I’m going to have to prepare tactically, but I’m just going to kind of focus on myself.” And just like that, the former World No.1 and six-time major winner made her words come true on Monday, as she won the Cincinnati Open for the first time in her career. However, she also ended up making a serious claim about her Italian rival, right before the next big challenge in New York.

Paolini had started well, winning the first three games before the Pole started to crawl her way back into the match following a close call that went her way . And although the I

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