It was, said Iga Swiatek, the cleanest match she has played this year in Indian Wells.
Given that the Polish world No 1 conceded all of 15 games in the previous four rounds, that gives you some idea of what Marta Kostyuk was up against in her first WTA 1000 semi-final.
After reaching a first grand slam quarter-final at the Australian Open in January and a maiden WTA 500 final last month in San Diego, it has been a breakthrough season for Kostyuk. But the 21-year-old Ukrainian’s momentum came crashing to a halt against Swiatek, who produced a near-flawless display to reach her second final in three years in the California desert.
“It’s already a great tournament, so I’m really happy,” said Swiatek following her 6-2, 6-1 victory. “I didn’t really have any moment today in the match where I didn’t feel confident.”
Swiatek will face Maria Sakkari on Sunday in a repeat of the 2022 final. The 28-year-old Greek, in resurgent form in her first tournament since hiring David Witt as her coach, survived a topsy-turvy, rain-delayed battle against Coco Gauff, holding her nerve to prevail 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 after missing match points in the second set.
In a contest full of big hitting and athleticism, the first seven games went with serve before rain intervened. When play resumed about 20 minutes later, Sakkari capitalised on an error-strewn service game from Gauff to snatch a vital break, but no sooner had the Greek served out the opener than the heavens opened again. The hiatus seemed timely for Gauff, who required medical attention after complaining of nausea, but the third-seeded American returned two hours later in ragged form, falling 5-2 behind.
The contest looked to have run its course, but Gauff had other ideas. The US Open champion has struggled to find her best form in recent weeks, but whatever she has lacked in quality, she has compensated for with tenacity and resilience. Just as she did after falling a set and a break down against Clara Burel in her opening match, Gauff set about cancelling out the deficit, opening her shoulders, saving three match points, and eventually levelling the match on a tiebreak.
“That second set could have been different, but I was thinking of that finish line too much,” said Sakkari. “I was just thinking too much, how to close out the match. That didn’t really help me. It freaked me out a little bit. I was too nervous.”
As Sakkari reflected afterwards, losing would have been “the easy way out”. Instead, she embraced the challenge, digging in to recover from an early break in the decider and claim a cathartic victory.
“I just wanted to challenge myself one more time and see what I can do after losing that second set,” said Sakkari. “I also kept telling myself that you’re not the first or the last person that loses a set or a match.
“I just bought into the game style where I had to be more aggressive and mix it up a little bit. I think that I was too predictable in the end of that second set. I’m just happy that I was able to close that out.”
There were no such problems for Swiatek, whose quality and consistency slowly suffocated Kostyuk’s challenge after an encouraging start by the Ukrainian. The blazing backhand winner with which the world No 32 wrapped up an emphatic opening game offered an early reminder of her firepower, but she was never able to reproduce such moments often enough to trouble the top seed.
There were times when Kostyuk looked capable of beating anyone. When she stepped inside the baseline and used her withering power to open up the court. When she rifled a backhand approach down the line and angled away a forehand volley. Whenever she had enough time to connect with a forehand that is among the biggest in the women’s game. Her downfall was rooted in an inability to repeat such moments consistently. She has the ingredients but, at this level, the recipe needs refining.
Kostyuk would finish with 23 unforced errors to just six by Swiatek. Her woes were compounded by an excellent serving performance from the Pole, who made almost three-quarters of her first serves, winning 83% of those points, and did not face a break point throughout.
“I think it was a great match for me today,” said Swiatek. “I have all positive vibes.”
Swiatek has now won a tour-leading 19 matches this season. She will be a strong favourite to make it 20 against Sakkari on Sunday.