Iga Swiatek, ranked 1 in the world, defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-1 on Friday to advance in the ATP-WTA Indian Wells Masters final.
After defeating 32nd-ranked Ukrainian Kostyuk in just 69 minutes, four-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek—who also won the 2022 Indian Wells title—will play either third-ranked US Open champion Coco Gauff or ninth-ranked Maria Sakkari of Greece in Sunday’s championship match.
Swiatek has advanced to the final match without dropping a set, however, she had previously stated that she needed to improve on a couple of things in her game.
The Ukrainian, who was competing in her first-ever 1000-level semi-final, had lost the second set 3-0 after receiving treatment for her injured left foot. As soon as play started up again, Swiatek wrapped up the match, winning her fifth break of Kostyuk’s serve with a winning service return.
Meanwhile, rain stopped the women’s semifinal match between Greece’s Maria Sakkari and US Open champion Coco Gauff on Friday. Sakkari was leading the game by a set and would now face Iga Swiatek in the Sunday final. The ninth-ranked Sakkari had won the first set 6-4, and Gauff was serving at 15-15 in the first game of the second set when rain came for the second time in the match.
The players had earlier had a 20-minute delay in the eighth game of the first set due to light rain, which made the court too slippery to play. After play resumed, Sakkari took advantage of the first serve break of the match to lead 5–4 and finished the set before rain again started to fall.
