Asked earlier this week which past or present tennis player she would choose as a dinner companion, Iga Swiatek did not miss a beat. “Steffi Graf,” replied the Pole, explaining that she would quiz the 22-time grand slam champion about how she used to handle the pressure of being the world’s best player.
Judging from the way she dismantled Maria Sakkari to win her second Indian Wells title in three years, however, Swiatek needs no advice in that department. In the kind of lopsided contest that has become her stock-in-trade, the world No 1 defeated the Greek ninth seed 6-4, 6-0 to claim her second WTA 1000 crown of the season, following last month’s win in Doha, and eighth in all. Swiatek, who did not drop a set throughout the tournament, has now won all but four of the 23 finals she has contested as a professional, amassing four grand slam titles along the way.
With her latest victory, Swiatek also overtook Graf to claim the best winning percentage in the tournament’s history (90% to 89.5%). She may have a long way to go before matching the German legend in other areas, but the 22-year-old’s grasp of what it means to hold the top ranking, and her ability to capitalise on the attendant advantages, are evident.
“You just feel like your game is better than anyone out there,” said Swiatek of what it means to be No 1. “Obviously it’s not for granted that you’re going to win because of that, but you feel like you have skills and you have everything to be able to present your best game.
“I don’t expect it’s going to happen all the time, but I just know that it’s somewhere there and I need to make the best work to put it out there.”
In a repeat of the 2022 final, which she won by an almost identical scoreline, Swiatek certainly produced some of her best work. Striking the ball with the same length, penetration and consistency that put paid to Marta Kostyuk in the semi-finals, she rolled through the first three games and won eight in a row from 4-4 in the first set to put the match beyond Sakkari.
Swiatek’s one period of anxiety came when Sakkari, heeding the advice of her new coach, David Witt, to target the Pole’s backhand and be more unpredictable, compiled a run of three straight games to level the opener. Taken the distance in four of her previous five matches in the California desert, the Greek has not wanted for tenacity, but this time her appetite for the fray was not enough. Not once Swiatek had recovered to win the first set, a position from which she is now unbeaten in 70 consecutive matches at this level.
It has nonetheless been an encouraging start for Sakkari in her first event since joining forces with Witt, the experienced American who parted ways with Jessica Pegula last month. Having arrived in California on a run of four defeats in six matches this season, the 28-year-old’s run to a second Indian Wells final in three years marks a welcome return to form. Her one regret was being drawn into a draining three-set battle in the semi-finals, where she held match points for a straight-sets win over Coco Gauff only to be taken the distance.
“I wasn’t competitive enough today,” said Sakkari. “My energy level was low, and in order for me to beat her I have to be at my best.
“She’s aggressive, but at the same time she’s solid. You have to take advantage of those chances she gives you. Like, from 3-0 to 3-3 to 4-4, she started missing.
“In order to beat her right now, I mean, if you look at her record, the players that she loses to are very aggressive players. If you try and play her game, you have no chance. You have to be ultra-aggressive playing her.
“But then if you don’t take that small chance – like it was 4-4, and I played a very loose returning game, I missed three backhand returns. That’s not acceptable with players like her.”
The win gives Swiatek a 2,520-point lead over Aryna Sabalenka at the top of the rankings, following the Belarusian’s fourth-round defeat to Emma Navarro. She will have the opportunity to extend that advantage at the Miami Open, where she has no points to defend after missing last year’s event with a rib injury and will be aiming for a repeat of the “Sunshine Double” she achieved in 2022.