Iga Swiatek & Aryna Sabalenka emulate Serena Williams-Maria Sharapova, Martina Hingis-Lindsay Davenport rivalries with Madrid run

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka will square off at the 2023 Madrid Open final on Saturday (May 6), just two weeks after the duo's summit clash at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

The meeting makes it just the third time in the last 40 years that the No. 1 and No. 2 in the world will face off twice in the same season on clay.

Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert achieved such a feat in 1984 when the duo played each other at the Amelia Island Championships and the French Open.

Twenty nine years later, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova repeated the same feat following their 2013 Madrid Open and French Open meetings.

The summit clash on Saturday also makes it the first time since 2000 where WTA's No. 1 and No. 2 will meet at the final of consecutive tournaments.

The then No. 1 Martina Hingis and No. 2 Lindsay Davenport played each other in the finals of the 2000 Indian Wells and Miami Open. Davenport pulled off a 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 win over Hingis at Indian Wells. Hingis struck back in Miami, claiming a 6–3, 6–2 win over the American.

Sabalenka will hope to devise a similar payback on Swiatek, having lost the final at Stuttgart, 6-3, 6-4. Speaking after her semifinal win over Maria Sakkari in Madrid, Sabalenka claimed that she wanted to exact revenge on the No. 1.

"I want to play (Iga) Swiatek. I don't know, it's always great battles with her. It's always tough matches, I like to be in the battle, and I want to get this revenge," Sabalenka said.

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A look at Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka's head-to-head record

Aryna Sabalenka (L) and Iga Swiatek at the 2023 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka have squared off on seven occasions, with the Pole currently leading 5-2 in the head-to-head.

The duo's first meeting saw Sabalenka register a 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 comeback win over Swiatek in the first round of the 2021 WTA Finals. Swiatek responded by beating the Belarusian at the Qatar Open, Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Italian Open and US Open in 2022.

However, another WTA Finals encounter later that year saw Sabalenka get the better of Swiatek in the semifinals.

Aryna Sabalenka's only loss in clay this season came against Iga Swiatek at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

Swiatek, meawhile, is yet to suffer a defeat on her favorite surface this year. She has lost just two games across eight matches on clay.