Swiatek serves up bagel

INDIAN WELLS, March 10

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Defending champion Iga Swiatek crushed Dayana Yastremska 6-0 6-2 and 2023 champion Elena Rybakina powered past Britain’s Katie Boulter 6-0 7-5 to reach the fourth round of Indian Wells with displays of dominance.

Swiatek, seeded second, is aiming to become the first woman to win the tournament three times and the Polish player looked eager to do so in as little time on court as possible, reeling off 10 games in a row and needing just 65 minutes to see off her Ukrainian opponent.

It was Swiatek’s second bagel set of the tournament after she overwhelmed Caroline Garcia 6-2 6-0 in her first match. 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. Swiatek will face 15th seed Karolina Muchova in the next round.

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 will play ninth-seeded teenager Mirra Andreeva next.