Iga Swiatek charges into Indian Wells final

Swiatek

Top-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland extended her dominant run at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., routing 31st-seeded Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals on Friday.

In the final, Swiatek will oppose either third-seeded Coco Gauff of the United States or ninth-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece.

Swiatek hasn’t lost a set through five matches at the tournament, though her quarterfinal was shortened when Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki was forced to retire in the second set due to a foot injury.

Swiatek, the 2022 Indian Wells champion, has won 55 of the 72 games she has played during the current fortnight.

The Friday match was more of the same, as Swiatek never faced a break point, converted five of her six break opportunities and won 83 percent of her first-serve points.

“It was the cleanest match I played here,” Swiatek said. “I didn’t really have any moment today in the match where I didn’t feel confident.”

Since getting upset in the third round of the Australian Open, Swiatek has been nearly unbeatable. She won the championship at Doha, Qatar, then got to the semifinals at Dubai, United Arab Emirates, before arriving in Southern California. Her match record since leaving Melbourne is 12-1.

In the second semifinal, Sakkari won the first set 6-4 and Gauff was serving to open the second set when the match was delayed due to rain.

–Field Level Media