Swiatek sweeps past Sakkari for 2nd Indian Wells title

INDIAN WELLS – World No. 1 Iga Swiatek powered past Greece's Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-0 on Sunday (Monday Manila time) to claim her second Indian Wells WTA title two years after she beat Sakkari for her first.

The rematch of the 2022 championship showdown produced an almost identical outcome, as four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek dominated the second set to seize her 19th career title and her second of 2024.

Sakkari, ranked ninth in the world, battled gamely through the opening set, erasing a break and saving two break points in the final game before Swiatek delivered a blistering forehand winner to pocket the set after 44 minutes.

It would take just 24 more minutes for the Polish star to wrap things up. She broke Sakkari at love for a 2-0 lead and rolled to the finish.

Swiatek, who continued her strong comeback from a third-round exit at the Australian Open in January, said her 12 days in the California desert weren't as easy as her scorelines might suggest.

She lost just 21 games and didn't drop a set.

"I'm really proud of myself," she said. "Even though this tournament looked like, the scores, maybe I had everything under control, it wasn't from the beginning to the end so easy.

"So I'm happy I could improve during the tournament. I felt really good on the last two matches, big amount of confidence," added Swiatek, whose run included a grudge match victory over Linda Noskova — the Czech teen who stunned her in the third round in Melbourne.

Since that disappointment, Swiatek has come back strong, winning a title in Doha and reaching the semifinals at Dubai.

On Sunday, she became the 10th woman to win the Indian Wells title twice, joining Serena Williams and Kim Clijsters as the only players to notch two titles before turning 23.

"I just feel I've done really good work," Swiatek said. "It hasn't been easy after Australia and I've been working hard to play well and to handle everything mentally well."

She got off to a hot start against Sakkari, breaking for a 3-0 lead.

Sakkari, whose two career titles include last September's 1000-level event in Guadalajara, broke back in the fifth game and leveled the set with a love hold for 4-4.

But serving to stay in the set,