Indian Wells: World number one Iga Swiatek cruised past Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-0 on Sunday to win her second WTA title at Indian Wells two years after defeating Sakkari for the first time.
The championship rematch in 2022 produced an almost identical result as four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek dominated the second set to capture her 19th career title and second in 2024.
Sakkari, ranked ninth in the world, battled gamely in the opening set, erasing a break and saving two break points in the final game before Swiatek produced a blistering forehand winner to seal the set after 44 minutes.
It would take the Polish star just 24 minutes to wrap it all up. She broke Sakkari at love for a 2-0 lead and cruised to the finish.
Swiatek, who continued her strong comeback from a third-round exit at the Australian Open in January, said her 12 days in the California desert had not been as easy as her score might suggest.
She lost only 21 games and did not lose a set.
“I’m really proud of myself,” she said. “Even though this tournament looked, the score, maybe I had everything under control, it wasn’t that easy from start to finish.
“So I’m glad I was able to improve during the tournament. I felt really good in the last two matches, a lot of confidence,” added Swiatek, whose run included a grudge match victory over Linda Nosková – a Czech teenager who stunned her. in the third round in Melbourne.
Meanwhile, world number two Carlos Alcaraz cruised home after a 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 victory over Daniil Medvedev on Sunday to claim his second consecutive ATP Indian Wells title, both at the Russian’s expense.
Alcaraz won his first title since Wimbledon last July, becoming the first repeat winner at Indian Wells since Novak Djokovic won three in a row from 2014-16.
For the 20-year-old Spaniard, 12 days in the Californian desert proved just what he needed after a stuttering start to the season, including an ankle injury that forced him out of the opening match in Rio de Janeiro in February.
“A lot of doubt,” he said of his setup. “But as soon as I stepped on the court in the first round I started to feel better and after each match I felt better and better.
“I’m really happy to win the tournament again.
As he did last year, Alcaraz denied Medvedev’s bid to win the only one of the six ATP hardcourt Masters 1000 titles he has yet to win.
More importantly, after a week in which he ended Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner’s 19-match winning streak, Alcaraz was looking forward to next week’s hard-court tournament in Miami and beyond with “extra, extra confidence”.
Medvedev, who was hampered by an ankle injury in the title fight in 2023, got off to a hot start in this match, using a break on serve to take a 3-0 lead in the first set.
But Alcaraz produced a hot forehand pass to break Medvedev in the fifth game and from there fought to the tie-break with entertaining rallies peppered with drop shots, volleys and lobs.
At 5-2 in the tiebreak, Medvedev fought back to 5-5, but Alcaraz won the set when the Russian sent a forehand wide and was in full control from there.
