Iga Swiatek of Warsaw, Poland jumped to the second place of the WTA Tour rankings after defeating Greek Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-1 in the BNP Paribas Open final in Indian Wells.
“I did not expect to be in this place. This is something crazy. I didn’t think I could play on this level from tournament to tournament,” said Swiatek. “Every game with Maria Sakkari is amazing, I would like to thank you very much. Hopefully we will face each other in the finals for the next 10 years.”
The Pole started nervously going down 0-2 quickly. The first set was very tight but it was the 20-year-old who rebounded to win it 6-4.
Both players had to cope with very demanding conditions and strong wind in the second set while Swiatek turned the pace after a bad start and took control on the court. The 2020 French Open champion broke Sakkari twice to end her hopes to turn the game into her favor, winning 6-1 to seal her fifth WTA title.
“Right now, it’s too surreal to describe it, honestly. But of course I want to go higher because I feel like taking first place is getting closer and closer,” said Swiatek.
Swiatek extended her winning streak to 11 matches and improved her WTA Tour record this season to 20-3.
“Especially winning after playing so well in Doha is giving me a lot of confidence and kind of belief that I can do it, because I wouldn’t think of myself as someone who’s ready to play two tournaments in a row and win it,” she added.
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