Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka holds the winner's trophy after defeating Iga Swiatek of Poland at the end of the women's final at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, May 6, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

MADRID - Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka beat Iga Swiatek 6-3 3-6 6-3 to win the Madrid Open on Saturday, avenging her defeat by the Polish world number one in last month's Stuttgart final.

Sabalenka produced a great performance to beat Swiatek for the first time on clay, proving that she will be a serious title contender when the French Open begins later this month.

The 25-year-old Sabalenka made things rather uncomfortable for Swiatek from the outset with her aggressive tactics, breaking the two-time Roland Garros champion's serve in the eighth game en route to bagging the first set.

Iga Swiatek of Poland returns the ball against Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka during their women's final match at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, May 6, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

Swiatek fought back in the second as she raced into a 3-0 lead before leveling the contest at one set all.

However, Australian Open champion Sabalenka dug in to show that she was no pushover as she opened up a 3-0 lead in the decider.

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Swiatek kept everyone on the edge of their seats as she made it 3-3 in a thrilling third set.

Sabalenka then went on to break Swiatek's serve with a brilliant crosscourt forehand before wrapping up the win on her fourth match point.