The Polish
Iga Swiatek
, number one in women's tennis, defeated the Greek Maria Sakkari this Sunday and was crowned champion of the WTA 1000 in Indian Wells (United States) for the second time.
Swiatek, who had already beaten Sakkari in the 2022 final in this tournament in the Californian desert, won this time by a resounding 6-4 and 6-0 in just 68 minutes of play.
With her victory, Swiatek rose to the top of the record of this emblematic tournament along with nine other tennis players who also have two titles.
"It's incredible to be up here again," said the Pole at the award ceremony.
"Congratulations to Maria. You are one of those players who is always fighting."
"I'm sorry I couldn't put up a better fight," the Greek lamented.
"It was very fast for you."
The Pole won the last six finals she played in. Photo: AFP
"Merit to Iga, she is an incredible player and champion. A very good person (...) With your team you have created something incredible," Sakkari acknowledged to the applause of the center court, the second largest in the world (16,000 seats). .
Swiatek paraded through Indian Wells
Swiatek, unbeatable in her last six finals, crowned with this recital a dazzling tour of Indian Wells in which she did not give up a single set in six matches.
After her unexpected setback at the Australian Open, at the hands of the young Linda Noskova, Swiatek once again made her authority clear in women's tennis.
The 22-year-old jewel from Warsaw has taken over two of the first three WTA 1000 tournaments of the course (Doha and Indian Wells) and has accumulated more matches won (20) than any rival.
Eight trophies in this category and four Grand Slam trophies
already shine in its showcase
.
Sakkari, for her part, was unable to repeat a performance like the one in the semifinals against local star Coco Gauff, current US Open champion, in which she gave a display of character to overcome the loss of three match points.
The brave Greek tennis player, ninth in the world ranking, was barely able to stand up in some phases of the first set, when she chained three games in a row, and ended up succumbing in two sets to Swiatek as in the 2022 final.
Sakkari, 28, has eight losses in the 10 finals of a career in which she debuted as WTA 1000 champion in September in Guadalajara.
Both players, who had not collided since the 2022 final, met again on a fresh and sunny morning in the desert Coachella Valley, with no trace of the rain that forced the two days of semifinals to be stopped.
The world number one took advantage of Sakkari's initial nerves to achieve the first break and take a 3-0 lead in just 12 minutes.
The Greek then found a loophole in Swiatek's dizzying game to get on the scoreboard and gain confidence in her shots to return the break.
Sakkari emerged victorious from several hectic exchanges and tied the score at 3-3, but the Pole reactivated her version of big chances.
With a record of 19 wins in 23 finals (8/2 WTA 1000), Swiatek once again took control of the game and took the lead with the first set.
The public, including personalities such as actors Tom Holland and Zendaya, tried to encourage Sakkari to lengthen the pulse but Swiatek did not give him any chance to react and ended the final with one of his usual blank sets.
Swiatek joined nine other tennis players who have also triumphed twice at Indian Wells since the inception of the women's division in 1989: Martina Navratilova, Mary Joe Fernandez, Steffi Graf, Lindsay Davenport, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Daniela Hantuchova, Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka.
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