Swiatek overwhelms Sakkari to win Indian Wells title
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Iga Swiatek beat Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-0 in just over an hour to win the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday, with the world’s top-ranked woman losing just 21 games in six matches during the 12-day tournament.
Swiatek earned her 20th match win of the year, which leads the WTA Tour.
It was a repeat of the 2022 final, in which Swiatek beat Sakkari 6-4, 6-1. Sakkari hasn’t defeated the Polish star since 2021.
“Sorry I couldn’t put on a better fight,” Sakkari told the crowd that included actors Charlize Theron, Tom Holland and Zendaya.
Swiatek raced to a 3-0 lead in the opening set. Sakkari recovered to win three straight games, including a break of Swiatek. She served a love game to tie it, 4-4. Swiatek lost just two points on her serve the rest of the set, wrapping it up with a forehand winner in the corner.
Swiatek was more dominant in the second set, breaking Sakkari three times all in love games.
Swiatek won 76% of her first serve points and won five of the eight break points against Sakkari.
Swiatek earned $1.1 million for the victory, less than the $1.26 million Elena Rybakina took home in 2023. This year more prize money was allocated to the earlier rounds, reducing the champions’ prize money by nearly 13%.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis