World number one Iga Swiatek powered past Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-0 on Sunday to claim her second Indian Wells WTA title two years after she beat Sakkari for her first.
The rematch of the 2022 championship showdown produced an almost identical outcome, as four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek dominated the second set to seize her 19th career title and her second of 2024.
Sakkari, ranked ninth in the world, battled gamely through the opening set, erasing a break and saving two break points in the final game before Swiatek delivered a blistering forehand winner to pocket the set after 44 minutes.
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It would take just 24 more minutes for the Polish star to wrap things up. She broke Sakkari at love for a 2-0 lead and rolled to the finish.
Swiatek continued her strong comeback from a disappointing third-round exit at the Australian Open in January.
Since then she’s won the title at Doha and reached the semi-finals at Dubai, and on Sunday she became the 10th woman to win the Indian Wells title twice — no one has yet managed to lift the trophy three times.
Her run to an eighth WTA 1000 level triumph included a grudge match victory over Linda Noskova – the Czech teen who stunned her in the third round at the Australian Open in January.
AFP
