Swiatek Advances to Indian Wells Semifinals with Dominant Win

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. – Defending champion Iga Swiatek triumphed over China’s Zheng Qinwen with a decisive score of 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday, securing her place in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open. This victory not only avenged her semifinal loss to Zheng at the Paris Olympics but also extended Swiatek’s campaign to become the first woman to win the prestigious tournament three times.

The world number two from Poland showcased her skills in a match that lasted approximately 90 minutes and demonstrated her controlled aggression despite facing her toughest opponent so far in the tournament.

Swiatek, who has already won the Indian Wells title once in 2022, opened the match with a swift break, quickly establishing a 3-0 lead. Although Zheng briefly rallied, even holding a 40-0 lead to threaten Swiatek’s serve, the Polish player maintained her composure, converting all five of her break points throughout the match.

“It was a weird match with all the breaks and everything, but I wanted to be composed and really focused, and I’m glad I did that,” said Swiatek in her post-match interview.

After a short rain delay disrupted play in the second set, Swiatek was forced to readjust as the wind picked up, impacting the match’s conditions. Zheng managed to pull off a break during this unsettled period but could not overcome Swiatek’s relentless determination, which culminated in a service break that concluded the match.

“At the end, it got really windy, which made it super tricky,” Swiatek remarked. “When the conditions change during the match, you need to adjust quickly and it’s not easy. I’m happy that I was pushing until the end.”

With this victory, Swiatek set up a semifinal face-off against either 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva or seasoned competitor Elina Svitolina. Andreeva, who is aiming to add to her accolades following her title in Dubai last month, is a promising young player and seeded 11th in the tournament.

In other quarterfinals, world number one Aryna Sabalenka is competing against 25th-ranked Liudmila Samsonova, while Australian Open champion Madison Keys faces off against resurgent Swiss player Belinda Bencic, who returned to competition after becoming a mother last year.

Keys, currently ranked fifth globally and vying to become the first American woman to win the Indian Wells title since Serena Williams in 2001, hopes to maintain her winning streak, having already claimed her maiden major title in Melbourne. Bencic, meanwhile, recently climbed the ranks after winning her ninth career title in Abu Dhabi.