Iga Świątek wins second Indian Wells title with dominant victory over Maria Sakkari

Sport 19 March, 2024 20:39

World No. 1 Iga Świątek brushed aside Maria Sakkari in straights sets to earn the second Indian Wells title of her career, beating the ninth seed 6-4 6-0 in Sunday’s final.

The Polish superstar didn’t drop a set during the tournament and lost just 21 games en route to her second WTA 1000 title of the year after winning February’s Qatar Open.

Świątek, who was stunned by Linda Noskova in the Australian Open third round, has now won her last six WTA finals to extend her career record to 19-4.

“I’m really proud of myself,” Świątek said, per the WTA. “I’m super happy. I mean, even though this tournament looked like, the scores, maybe I had everything under control, it wasn’t from the beginning to the end so easy.

“So I’m happy I could improve during the tournament. I felt really good on the last two matches, big amount of confidence.”

Still only 22 years old, Świątek has already won four grand slam titles and eight WTA 1000 titles.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t put up a better fight,” Sakkari said in her on-court interview, according to the BBC. “It was pretty quick for you guys but credit to Iga, you’re an amazing player, a very good person and an incredible champion.

“You really do deserve the best. You and your team have created something incredible. I’m really hoping we can play a lot more finals.”

Up next for Świątek is the upcoming Miami Open where she will aim to win the ‘Sunshine Double’ – winning Indian Wells and the Florida tournament back-to-back – for the second time in her career.