INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- While World No.1 Iga Swiatek separated herself from the field last year when she won six straight tournaments and 37 consecutive matches, her mastery has continued into the new season.
The most recent example came Monday night at the BNP Paribas Open in a bruising matchup between two former BNP Paribas Openās champions, Swiatek (2022) and Andreescu (2019), which she won as a wild card. It was Swiatek who prevailed in breezy, heavy conditions, 6-3, 7-6 (1).
After playing a terrific match, Andreescu couldnāt contain Swiatek in the tiebreak, losing seven of eight points.
āShe changed the rhythm pretty well and with this surface it can get tough,ā Swiatek said in her on-court interview. āBut Iām pretty happy I was solid most of the times, at least. And that I could be recomposed in the tiebreaker because I really knew that I could get my focus up. Iām even glad that I got a chance to kind of play under pressure some more and see how Iām going to cope with it.
āI feel like the vibe is similar to the US Open, so, yeah, for sure playing under pressure itās tough.ā
Swiatek is the only player yet to play a three-set match this year (minimum 15 played) and has ripped off a tour-leading 14 straight-set victories. Moreover, since the beginning of 2022, sheās won the most matches in straight sets (25) -- eight more than the next player, Jessica Pegula.
The difference, as usual, could be seen in the crucible of break points. Swiatek converted five of eight, while Andreescu converted one fewer. Swiatek, now 2-0 against Andreescu, is still on track to become the first woman to defend the title here at Indian Wells since Martina Navratilova in 1991.
This is already Swiatekās 13th trip to the Round of 16 at a WTA Tour 1000. Since 2009, only three other players -- Caroline Wozniacki (23), Victoria Azarenka (15) and Agnieszka Radwanska (14) -- accomplished that before turning 22 years old.
In a flurry, Andreescu won that 2019 title here, then the Toronto 1000 and the US Open. She was 19 years old. Since then, dogged by a variety of injuries, it has been a slog. Sheās 6-6 for the year and looking for a spark. This match, despite the result, might have been the thing she was looking for.
It took Andreescu all of five minutes to equal Claire Liuās one-game effort in Swiatekās first match, breaking Swiatek in the opener. That seemed to wake Swiatek up. The second game, featuring three deuces, required eight minutes, but Swiatek had broken back.
After another lengthy game (four deuces) that saw Swiatek take a 3-2 lead, she broke Andreescu again with an emphatic backhand winner down the line. Make that 4-2. She served it out when Andreescuās ball clipped the net chord and bounced back.
Swiatek came out swinging in the second set, breaking Andreescu in the first game, but serving a 2-1, suffered an unusual lapse in concentration. An errant forehand got the set back on serve. When Swiatek was threatening to break back, Andreescu hit a terrific forehand stretch volley winner that brought the crowd to its feet -- and had Andreescu pumping her fist.
The Canadian broke Swiatek to take a 4-2 lead, but Swiatek immediately forced the set back on serve. She took a 5-4 lead, breaking Andreescu -- at love. Naturally, Andreescu broke right back to level it at 5-all and it was off to the one-sided tiebreak.
The 21-year-old Swiatek now meets 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, 20, in a Wednesday matchup between two more Grand Slam singles champions. Swiatek won their only previous match, last year in Stuttgart.
āIām pretty sure Iāll be ready tactically,ā Swiatek said. āHonestly, my goal is to approach every match the same way. Iām pretty sure I got into the rhythm already, so Iām hoping Iām going to play better and better.ā
https://www.wtatennis.com/news/3109684/swiatek-holds-off-andreescu-to-face-raducanu-next
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