World No.1 Iga Swiatek rolled to her second BNP Paribas Open title on Sunday in Indian Wells by toppling Maria Sakkari -- who she beat 6-4, 6-1 to win in the California desert two years ago -- by a 6-4, 6-0 final score.
Swiatek won the last eight games of the 68-minute match, in which she won the first three in 15 minutes on court. Sakkari missed more balls than she made early on, as Swiatek won 12 of the first 15 points, but there was a match to be had for much of the first set. From 0-30 down on her serve in the fourth game, No.9 seed Sakkari won three straight games to level the first set at 3-3 -- but from 4-4, the World No.1 found another level.
By the end of the match, she broke Sakkari five times, and only lost five points in the second set. Behind 15 winners overall, Swiatek won 12 straight sets in her second BNP Paribas Open title run, and lost just 21 games.
"I would say at the beginning of the tournament I felt like I didn't have much luck with the draw," Swiatek continued. "I played opponents that sometimes I struggled with. I lost against Linda [Noskova] in Australia this year. Then I was pretty stressed actually before facing Caroline Wozniacki [in the quarterfinals], because I felt like we haven't played in a while. I didn't really know how her game feels on my racquet. I just have huge respect for her. This was the kind of match where I had to kind of work through the stress.
"But then after that I just felt like I could actually play my game more freely."
Sakkari and Swiatek were the third pair of players to meet in multiple finals in Indian Wells, joining Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport (1998, 2000) and Kim Clijsters and Lindsay Davenport (2003, 05). The two have now split six career meetings, all of which have been decided in straight sets, and Swiatek has won the last three.
Swiatek now owns eight career WTA 1000 titles, and 19 career Hologic WTA Tour titles in all. She's now won at least two titles in each of the last four seasons.
That's how legendary champions bounce back from a loss in a Grand Slam.
Get some well deserved rest champ!.
See you in Miami!.
More fun with Optaace stats
19 - Iga Swiatek is the player with the most titles after her first 23 WTA level finals in the Open Era (19, level with Chris Evert, Gail Sherriff and Nancy Richey). Incredible.
36 - Only Martina Navratilova (44) has won more top-10 matches within her first 50 such clashes in the last 40 years than Iga Swiatek (36). Unimaginable.
10 - Iga Swiatek is the first player to win 10+ consecutive matches against top-10 since … Iga Swiatek - she is the fourth player in 2000s with multiple such streaks after Venus Williams, Justine Henin and Serena Williams. Repeat.
3 - Iga Swiatek is the third player to secure multiple titles in Indian Wells before turning 23 after Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters. Paradise!
19 - Iga Swiatek is the player with the most titles after her first 23 WTA level finals in the Open Era (19, level with Chris Evert, Gail Sherriff and Nancy Richey). Incredible.
36 - Only Martina Navratilova (44) has won more top-10 matches within her first 50 such clashes in the last 40 years than Iga Swiatek (36). Unimaginable.
10 - Iga Swiatek is the first player to win 10+ consecutive matches against top-10 since … Iga Swiatek - she is the fourth player in 2000s with multiple such streaks after Venus Williams, Justine Henin and Serena Williams. Repeat.
3 - Iga Swiatek is the third player to secure multiple titles in Indian Wells before turning 23 after Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters. Paradise!
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