Iga Swiatek was dominance in the WTA level 1000 tournament this season has continued after he won the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells thanks to a convincing straight sets win.
The third seed did not face much of a problem as she defeated sixth seed Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the BNP Paribas Open.
Swiatek went 0-3 against Greek Sakkari and all three of those meetings came in 2021. But since then, he has won their last two meetings this season in Doha and Indian Wells.
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After winning his fifth career title and second successive title, the Polish national will occupy the highest ranking of his career to date, which is world number 2.
The 2020 French Open champion also became the first woman to win the BNP Paribas Open title, surpassing her compatriot, Agnieszka Radwanska, who was runner-up in 2014.
In addition, thanks to this victory, the third seed became the first female tennis player to bag 20 victories this season. The victory was also the 11th straight victory for the Polish national after winning the Qatar Open a few weeks ago. In total he bagged 11-0 in WTA level 1000 tournaments this season.
“At the start of the tournament, I didn’t even think about winning. Of course you have faith in yourself, but I’m a realistic person,” said Iga Swiatek.
“Winning after playing well in Doha gave me a lot of confidence and belief that I can do it. I don’t think of myself as someone ready to go into two tournaments in a row and win them. For sure, hard work pays off well.”
Regarding being in the 2nd world ranking, Swiatek added, “The 2nd world ranking seems unreal for now. I have to see it and I have to check the rating by myself. Right now it’s still too unreal to describe it. But of course I want to be in a higher ranking, because I feel I am getting closer to world number 1.”
Despite losing, Sakkari can take a lot of positives, especially after he strolled into the biggest final of his career to date, the final of the first WTA 1000 level tournament in his career.
Sakkari will also occupy the highest ranking in her career to date, which is world number 3.
