Swiatek-Sakkari rematch at Indian Wells with No. 2 ranking on the line
Swiatek-Sakkari rematch at Indian Wells with No. 2 ranking on the line
Former French Open champion Iga Swiatek and Greece's Maria Sakkari duel in the desert Sunday with not only the Indian Wells WTA title on the line but also the world number two ranking.
It's a rematch of last month's semi-finals in Doha, where Poland's Swiatek beat Sakkari for the first time in four meetings and went on to win the title.
Sakkari said Swiatek showed her a new, aggressive style in that match, something 2020 French Open champion Swiatek says she has worked on since bringing new coach Tomasz Witkorwoski -- who coached Poland's former world No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska -- on board.
"She has changed her game," Sakkari said of the player she beat three times in the space of five months last year -- at Roland Garros, Ostrava and the WTA Finals in Guadalajara.
"She's not the Iga that was a year ago. She has been playing very, very aggressive and I was actually very surprised with that change when I played her in Doha.
"So I'll have to come up with a good plan with my team."
Sakkari will also have to avoid a let down after her emotional semi-final victory over defending champion Paula Badosa 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.
Sakkari, who had one only two of her last 14 semi-finals, broke down in tears after seeing off the Spaniard.
"It might look silly to some people because it might look like I've won the title, but sometimes it's not about winning the tournament. It's just that some moments are very special for every player and today was one of them," the 26-year-old said.
Sakkari, whose only WTA title came on clay at Rabat in 2019, said that less than a year ago, the world number two ranking wouldn't have been on her radar. And it won't be at the forefront of her mind on Sunday.
"I'm not going to think about it because it has been already a very good tournament. And of course ranking-wise I see myself improving every single week. So I'm just going to embrace the fact that I have a chance," she said.
Swiatek arrives at the final battle-tested.
She rallied from a set down in each of her first three matches and, after an uncomplicated 6-1, 6-0 pasting of Madison Keys, she recovered a break in each set to beat former world number one Simona Halep 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 in the semi-finals.
Now that she has mastered her new style, Swiatek has her eye on a fifth career title.
"I'm pretty glad that I'm good at balancing the aggression, the control, because I think that's the most important thing in tennis because really we are super strong and we can hit really hard, but we've got to choose the right moments," she said.
"And earlier I didn't feel like I was choosing the right moments, but I think it also comes with a little bit of experience.
"It feels like I have more options and more skills."
J.Morris--RTC
