World number one Iga Swiatek clinched her second Indian Wells Masters crown with a straightforward 6-4 6-0 win over Maria Sakkari in Sunday's women's singles final.
The 22-year-old needed just 68 minutes to sink her Greek foe, who also lost to Swiatek in the final of the 2022 edition, as the top seed earned her eighth Masters crown and her second of the 2024 season.
Swiatek had already taken home the Qatar Open trophy and has now won a total of 19 titles on the WTA Tour since making her first final in 2019, only losing four of her 23 showpiece events.
In addition, the 22-year-old stormed to the California crown without dropping a single set, becoming the first woman to do so at Indian Wells since Maria Sharapova in 2013.
Rack 'em up, Iga! 🎱
— wta (@WTA) March 17, 2024
That's 8 WTA 1000 titles in the trophy cabinet for World No.1 @iga_swiatek 🏆#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/FjykezwmTA
Swiatek was immediately on the front foot against world number nine Sakkari as she roared into a 3-0 lead, but the Greek recovered from that early deficit and benefitted from some uncharacteristic Swiatek errors to level at 4-4.
However, that hold in the eighth game would be the last joyful act for Sakkari, as Swiatek rediscovered her dominant streak to close out the championships with a sensational eight-game winning sequence, taking her first match point as the ninth seed sent a forehand wide of the tramlines.
As Swiatek rejoiced in her second Indian Wells triumph, Sakkari was left to dissect an eighth loss from 10 finals on the WTA Tour, while three of her four Masters showpiece matches have now ended in defeat.
Ben Knapton
