Top seed Iga Świątek produced a near-flawless performance to cruise past Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-1 and into the Indian Wells final on Friday, remaining on track for her second title of the year. There, she will face Maria Sakkari of Greece.
The 22-year-old Pole could have taken on the U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff in an intriguing title clash, but the third-seeded American was beaten in three sets by the ninth seed Sakkari in the second semi-final later.
“For sure I’m happy with the performance. I think it was the cleanest match I played here. It's already a great tournament,” Świątek said.
“There’s no preference,” she said in reference to her potential final competitors. “Both of them are really great and experienced so they are going to be fighting today and fighting in the final, no matter who is going to be there. “It’s going to be tough anyway.”
Świątek, the 2022 champion, made her intentions clear early on with an aggressive start to claim a break for a 2-1 lead. She pulled further away when Kostyuk hit a double fault two games later, wrapping up the opening set in 31 minutes.
The 21-year-old Kostyuk was put through the wringer again by world number one Świątek at the start of the second set.
A powerful smash at the net gave Świątek another break. The four-times Grand Slam champion withstood some pressure from the 31st seed in the next game before building a 3-0 advantage.
Kostyuk appeared to struggle with a left foot problem and a medical timeout only delayed the inevitable, as Świątek eased to a WTA Tour-leading 19th match win of the season, finishing off the match with a forehand winner.
“For sure I’m happy with the performance. I think it was the cleanest match I played here. It's already a great tournament,” Świątek said.
“There’s no preference,” she said in reference to her potential final competitors. “Both of them are really great and experienced so they are going to be fighting today and fighting in the final, no matter who is going to be there. “It’s going to be tough anyway.”
Świątek, the 2022 champion, made her intentions clear early on with an aggressive start to claim a break for a 2-1 lead. She pulled further away when Kostyuk hit a double fault two games later, wrapping up the opening set in 31 minutes.
The 21-year-old Kostyuk was put through the wringer again by world number one Świątek at the start of the second set.
A powerful smash at the net gave Świątek another break. The four-times Grand Slam champion withstood some pressure from the 31st seed in the next game before building a 3-0 advantage.
Kostyuk appeared to struggle with a left foot problem and a medical timeout only delayed the inevitable, as Świątek eased to a WTA Tour-leading 19th match win of the season, finishing off the match with a forehand winner.
Source: Rueters
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