Indian Wells Final: The world number one Iga Swiatek maintained her title defence with a 6-3 6-1 victory on Tuesday, ending Emma Raducanu’s run at Indian Wells and setting up a quarterfinal matchup with unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea.
Swiatek was under pressure early in the first set, but after two tense service games, some precise ball striking allowed her to hold for a 3-2 lead. She increased her level, even more, to defeat Raducanu in the following game before separating.
Swiatek took an early break in the second set to put pressure on the Englishman, whose unforced errors started to accumulate after Raducanu’s long shot from the baseline sealed the opening set.
Swiatek surged to a 5-1 lead playing faultless tennis and exhausting her opponent as she sought to become just the second female player to successfully defend the Indian Wells title after Martina Navratilova in 1990–1991.
Raducanu hit the net on the serve, putting a meek end to her impressive run in the Southern California desert, and the US Open champion sealed the victory.
“Overall, I believe I can conclude that this week was good for me,” stated Raducanu. “I believe the team had a run of three extremely strong games.
“Today’s game of Iga on the court at night was enjoyable. I believe that she was favoured by the slow, heavy circumstances. Nonetheless, it’s still helpful to know where I stand.
“It’s been a good 10 days, I believe. Although I didn’t train particularly hard before the competition, I feel like I’ll need tomorrow to recover physically because, since the competition began, I’ve done a few things every day.
“So tomorrow, I’ll take a little time to mentally and physically rest before continuing.
Coco Gauff defeated Swede Rebecca Peterson 6-3 1-6 6-4 earlier in the day, coming back from a breakdown in the fourth set to go to the quarterfinals for the first time.
The sixth-seeded American started to have trouble with her forehand in the second set after winning the first, and an opportunistic Peterson put pressure by advancing to the net.
Gauff improved her defence after losing the first break in the decider, saving three break points at 4-4, then breaking Peterson for a fourth time on match point to advance to the round of eight.
Gauff, who turned 19 on Monday, was afterwards surprised by the audience, who sang “Happy Birthday” to him.
“Staying in the game today was merely a mental challenge,” according to Gauff.
“Although I didn’t always play at my best and didn’t serve as well as I’d like to, I believe my mentality kept me in the game today.”
The No. 10 seeded Cameron Norrie advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4.
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