Iga Swiatek reaches Indian Wells 4th round with dominant display

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INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Defending champion Iga Swiatek cruised past Dayana Yastremska 6-0, 6-2 on Sunday to reach the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

The dominant display followed her 6-2, 6-0 victory over Caroline Garcia in her first match.

Swiatek, the No. 2 seed, is aiming to become the first woman to win the tournament three times.

She looked eager to do so in as little time as possible, reeling off 10 games in a row and needing just 65 minutes.

"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-time 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 No. 1 ranking, but said the California desert is an ideal setting to get back to winning ways.

"It's amazing, I love coming here," Swiatek 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 15th seed Karolina Muchova in the round of 16 after the Czech player beat her compatriot Katerina Siniakova in the afternoon.

Also advancing on the women's side was 2023 champion Elena Rybakina, who powered past Britain's Katie Boulter 6-0, 7-5.

After cruising through the first set, Rybakina fell behind 5-3 in the second before regrouping.

She stretched to hit a sensational defensive shot in a game where she broke back for 5-5, and broke again on match point to seal the win.

Rybakina, who missed last year's tournament because of an illness, will play either ninth-seeded Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva or Denmark's Clara Tauson in the next round.

Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk beat American wild card Caroline Dolehide 6-3, 6-3.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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