When the Pole and Aryna Sabalenka met in Madrid, they stood together atop the tour. No longer.

Swiatek’s superiority was clear from first ball to last. She broke for 3-1 in the first set, then again for 5-2. She served intelligently and effectively, saving all seven break points she faced, often with strong first serves right into Sabalenka’s body. In the first set, she was the more aggressive player and better ball-striker, breaking serve with a series of deep, powerful backhands. In the second set, she was the better clutch player, raising her game each time Sabalenka threatened to to rev herself into a comeback. On six of the seven break points she faced, Swiatek saved it with a winning shot.

“I was playing well and solid,” Swiatek said. “I used my chances. For sure this match looked a little bit differently than in Madrid. I felt like I’m putting a lot of pressure. I just continued doing that throughout the whole match.”

“Honestly, Madrid, I didn’t feel like I could do everything. Here I kind of did,” she said of the slower clay in Rome, where she has now won three times.

Swiatek played within herself—as she said, “solid.” She hit just 11 winners, but made just eight errors, compared to 28 for Sabalenka, who started slowly in the first set, and could never get over the break-point hump in the second. While Sabalenka went for the outright winners, Swiatek counterpunched in a way that was lower-risk, but still pushed her opponent out of position.

“It wasn’t the final I really expected; didn’t play my best at all,” Sabalenka said.