Indian Wells (United States) (AFP) – Defending champion Iga Swiatek edged closer to an unprecedented third straight Indian Wells WTA title Sunday, overwhelming Dayana Yastremska 6-0, 6-2 to reach the fourth round. The world number two from Poland was in full control against the hard-hitting Ukrainian, swinging freely as she won the first 10 games. She converted six of her 11 break chances and didn’t face a break point herself, and it felt like it was all over by the time Yastremska got on the board with wins in her last two service games of the match.
“It’s always hard to finish a match like that,” Swiatek said. “But I’m happy that I got my intensity up the last game and closed it with confidence because for sure it was a great match. I had control from the beginning so I’m happy with the performance for sure,” added Swiatek, who wrapped up the win in 65 minutes. After lifting the trophy in 2022 and 2024, Swiatek could become the first woman to win three Indian Wells titles. Her 20-2 record in the California desert gives her a winning percentage second only to that of Martina Navratilova, who was a perfect 10-0 here and is the only woman to win back-to-back titles — in 1990 and ’91.
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Swiatek opened the action on Stadium Court, where Daniil Medvedev later continued his bid to reach a third straight final with a third-round match against 20-year-old Southern California native Alex Michelsen. The winner of that match will take on 10th-seeded American Tommy Paul, a 6-3, 7-5 winner over 2021 Indian Wells winner Cameron Norrie, who is now ranked 77th in the world.
Tallon Griekspoor, the world No.43 who shocked world number two and top seed Alexander Zverev in the second round, backed up his big win with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 victory over France’s 29th seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Griekspoor fired 10 aces, dominating the first set tiebreaker after an early exchange of breaks. He didn’t face a break point in the second set, breaking his 21-year-old opponent on the way to a 5-2 lead in the second set and securing the win on his second match point.
Other matches on Sunday include men’s eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas taking on Italian Matteo Berrettini in a rematch of their Dubai quarter-final, which was won by Tsitsipas on the way to the title last week. Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, also coming off a title in Dubai, takes on Denmark’s Clara Tauson — the woman Andreeva beat in the Dubai final to become the youngest ever WTA 1000 champion.
© 2024 AFP
