Iga Swiatek has continued her impressive Indian Wells title defence with a dominant victory over Dayana Yastremska.
Swiatek loves the conditions at Indian Wells, and is one of 10 women to win the singles title twice.
There were questions over whether Swiatek would still enjoy her time in California this year, after the Indian Wells tournament changed the surface for the first time in 25 years.
However, it appears that Swiatek is still relishing at Indian Wells and is continuing to make history at the tournament.
Iga Swiatek achieves Indian Wells record with 20th win
After beating Yastremska in just over an hour, Swiatek confirmed her 20th victory at Indian Wells.
The world number two achieved this feat in just 22 matches, with Swiatek’s only two defeats coming against Jelena Ostapenko (2021) and Elena Rybakina (2023)
As a result, only one WTA player in history has managed to win 20 matches at Indian Wells quicker than Swiatek, with Serena Williams doing it in just 21.
Williams won two Indian Wells titles in her first three appearances, with her only loss coming in the 2000 quarter-finals to Mary Pierce.
This includes her debut appearance at the WTA 1000 tournament, where Williams beat Steffi Graf in the Indian Wells final.
However, after both the Williams’ sisters boycotted the tournament for 14 years, Serena was unable to get her 20th win until 2016 when she beat Laura Siegemund.
Some other WTA players to have achieved 20 wins at Indian Wells in quick fashion include Martina Hingis (23), Kim Clijsters (23) and Caroline Wozniacki (24).
Iga Swiatek continues dominance with bagel set against Dayana Yastremska
Not only did Swiatek beat Yastremska, but she was also able to win the first 10 games of the match.
Swiatek has become synonymous with bagel sets (6-0), and achieved her 31st at WTA 1000 events against Yastremska.
This is the Pole’s second already in her two matches so far at Indian Wells this year, as she now equals Wozniacki.
The only player to win more bagel sets at WTA 1000 tournaments is Victoria Azarenka, who currently has 33 to her name.
When asked about what it feels like to be this dominant, Swiatek told her press conference it helps her keep calm.
“Well, for sure, you know, I know that I’m in a good place and I’m going the right way,” said Swiatek. “So I feel pretty pumped up. But on the other hand, you know, calm, because I don’t feel that I’m threatened.
“But I need to go and be aware in the second set that it can all change. Like, second set is a different story. You know, we start from zero kind of again, so the other player can also get their level up. So I always try to be aware of that and just be ready to compete.”
Swiatek will continue her bid to make Indian Wells history on Tuesday March 11, when she takes on Karolina Muchova in a rematch of the 2023 Roland Garros final.
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