Iga Swiatek of Poland has moved into the final of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament with victory over Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in Indian Wells.Iga Swiatek of Poland has moved into the final of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament with victory over Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in Indian Wells.Top seed Iga Świątek produced a near-flawless performance to cruise past Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-1 and into the Indian Wells final on Friday, remaining on track for her second title of the year.
The 22-year-old Pole could take on US Open champion Coco Gauff in an intriguing title clash if the third-seeded American can beat ninth seed Maria Sakkari of Greece in the second semi-final.“For sure I’m happy with the performance. I think it was the cleanest match I played here. It’s already a great tournament,” Świątek said.“It would be stupid for me to say anything.
Świątek, the 2022 champion, made her intentions clear early on with an aggressive start to claim a break for a 2-1 lead. She pulled further away when Kostyuk hit a double fault two games later, wrapping up the opening set in 31 minutes. The 21-year-old Kostyuk was put through the wringer again by world No 1 Świątek at the start of the second set. A powerful smash at the net gave Swiatek another break. The four-times Grand Slam champion withstood some pressure from the 31st seed in the next game before building a 3-0 advantage.