By Rory Carroll
INDIAN WELLS, California (Reuters) – Defending champion Iga Swiatek crushed Dayana Yastremska 6-0 6-2 to reach the fourth round of Indian Wells on Sunday in another display of dominance after her 6-2 6-0 victory over Caroline Garcia in her first match.
Swiatek, seeded second, is aiming to become the first woman to win the tournament three times and the Polish player looked eager to do so in as little time on court as possible, reeling off 10 games in a row and needing just 65 minutes to dominate her Ukrainian opponent.
“At the end I got a bit tired, it’s always hard to finish a match like that but I’m happy that I kept my intensity up in the last game to close it,” she said.
“I had control from the beginning so I’m happy with the performance for sure.”
The five-times major champion has not won a title since her triumph at Roland Garros in 2024, her longest drought since winning her first major title in 2020.
She served a one-month suspension in October for a failed drug test and has seen Aryna Sabalenka take her world number one ranking but said the California desert is an ideal setting to get back to winning ways.
“It’s amazing, I love coming here,” she said.
“I already have my routine so it feels like home. It’s for sure the place to be and a great place to play tennis.”
Swiatek will face either 15th seed Karolina Muchova or Katerina Siniakova in the round of 16.
Tallon Griekspoor toppled 29th-seeded Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on Sunday after stunning top seed Alexander Zverev in the previous round.
Griekspoor pounded 10 aces and broke Mpetshi Perricard’s mighty serve twice en route to the win under sunny skies in the California desert.
Popular American Tommy Paul notched his 50th win at a Masters 1000 tournament with a 6-3 7-5 victory over Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Indian Wells; Editing by Toby Davis)
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