The World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz made a triumphant return from a near four-month injury layoff on Saturday as he advanced to the final of the Argentina Open, determined to claim his first title of 2023.
The Spaniard, who suffered an abdominal injury at the Paris Masters in November, beat compatriot Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2 6-2 in the semi-final and will play Britain's Cameron Norrie in the title clash.
The 19-year-old pulled out of the Australian Open because of a leg injury and lost the No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic, who won the season-opening major at Melbourne Park.
"I was a little bit down after the injury, so I had to recover in those four months the confidence and the rhythm," Alcaraz said. "Coming back for my first tournament of 2023 and making the final is so special for me."
Alcaraz has won three of his four meetings with Norrie and expects a tough test against him later on Sunday at the ATP 250 claycourt event.
"I know that I have to give everything I have in the final. I'm going to say it's going to be a really tough final, but at the same time a beautiful one," Alcaraz added.
Swiatek's 2nd Qatar Open
Meanwhile, women's world No. 1 Iga Swiatek put on an impressive display of dominance on Saturday, easily dispatching American Jessica Pegula 6-3 6-0 in just over an hour to successfully defend her Qatar Open title.
The victory capped off a dominant campaign during which Swiatek recorded 6-0 6-1 wins over both Danielle Collins and Veronika Kudermetova and received a quarter-final bye, dropping just five games in three matches.
The reigning French and U.S. Open champion was quick to downplay the significance of her achievement, however, saying in an on-court interview, "Well, for sure the bye helped. I don't really care how many games I won or lost."
It is Swiatek's first title of a year and follows her shock fourth-round exit in the Australian Open at the hands of Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina.
The Pole will hope it helps kick start a run similar to last year when she built on her maiden victory in Doha to win 37 straight matches and claim the French Open and titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart and Rome.
"I feel like I found my rhythm here after a tough beginning to the season," said Swiatek, after claiming her 12th WTA singles title.
"I could really stay focused from the beginning to the end of matches."
Swiatek lent her support to the people in Ukraine following her win in the last edition of the tournament and reiterated that message on Saturday.
"I feel like we all have pretty short memories, but we should all support Ukraine and Ukrainians in everything they cope with every day," Swiatek said.
"It's disappointing that the situation has not changed, but hopefully they will stay strong."