(Indian Wells) Polish world No.1 Iga Swiatek qualified for the final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells (California, United States) on Friday by beating Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-1.
Swiatek, who won the title in 2022, only needed 69 minutes to win over the Ukrainian Kostyuk and will face either the young American star Coco Gauff or the Greek Maria Sakkari in the final on Sunday.
“I am satisfied with my performance,” said Swiatek, who did not have to defend a single break point. “I think it’s the cleanest match I’ve played here. »
Although she reached the final without losing a single set, Swiatek, already crowned with four Grand Slam titles, had insisted after her previous victories that she still had to resolve some problems in her game.
This is what she seemed to have done by putting Kostyuk in difficulty from the start of the game thanks to precise and powerful strikes.
The Ukrainian, who was playing in her first WTA 1000 semi-final, was trailing 3-0 in the second set when she received treatment on her left foot.
On the restart, Swiatek did not take long to secure the victory by achieving a winning return of service for his fifth break.
Rain interrupts Gauff-Sakkari semi-final in Indian Wells
The rain interrupted the semi-final on Friday between the American Coco Gauff (3e world) to the Greek Maria Sakkari, who has a round lead in the battle to face Iga Swiatek on Sunday in the final.
The Greek Sakkari, world No. 9, won the first set 6-4. American star Gauff was serving at 15-15 in the first game of the second set when rain fell on the court for the second time, interrupting the match.
The players had already had to wait around twenty minutes in the 8e game of the first set, because a first downpour had made the court too slippery.
At the restart, Sakkari managed his first break of the match to lead 5-4 and served for the set, before a heavier downpour interrupted the match again.
The winner will face world No.1 Iga Swiatek in the final on Sunday, who beat Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-1 in the first semi-final.