Iga Swiatek makes ‘revenge’ admission after knocking out Qinwen Zheng from Indian Wells

World No.1 Iga Swiatek is into the Indian Wells semifinals after eliminating Qinwen Zheng in the quarterfinals.

Iga Swiatek makes ‘revenge’ admission after knocking out Qinwen Zheng from Indian Wells

Iga Swiatek, Qinwen Zheng (Image via X)

Iga Swiatek is on the verge of scripting history at Indian Wells. In the quarterfinals on Friday (March 13), the Pole got her revenge on Qinwen Zheng for the 2024 Paris Olympics semifinal defeat.

Last year in the Olympics, the Chinese clinched a 6-2, 7-5 win over Swiatek, and beat Donna Vekic to win her first gold medal. This time, however, Swiatek was in control throughout the match and after the win, Swiatek declared that the revenge was nothing personal against the 22-year-old.

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I want to prove to myself and everyone that I can do it, and I knew that before the Olympics match. Now I know it, but losing to anyone is not pleasant, so you always want to get like a revenge, but it’s nothing personal. I think all players have that feeling against those they lost to before.

Iga Swiatek said at the press conference

It was her fourth win in straight in straight sets in the tournament as she is yet to drop a set and also registered two bagels, against Caroline Garcia and Dayana Yastremska. She has now won 10 straight matches in the tournament and dropped just 12 games.

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Iga Swiatek makes feelings clear on playing in windy conditions

Players are struggling in the windy conditions in the tournament and it was no different for Iga Swiatek. What helped Swiatek to cruise into the next round is her unwavering focus.

Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek (Image via WTA/X)

At the end, it got pretty windy, which made it super tricky. You need to adjust quickly and it’s not that easy. But I’m happy that I was pushing until the end. I wanted to be composed and really focused, and I’m glad that I did that.

Iga Swiated said at the press conference

Another title in the California desert will make Swiatek the first woman to win Indian Wells three times. With her win over Qinwen Zheng, the five-time Grand Slam champion also became the first player to lose just 12 games in reaching the Indian Wells semifinals since Novak Djokovic in 2011.

Swiatek also improved her head-to-head record over Zheng to 6-1. She became the first player in the history of Indian Wells to advance to the semifinals four times on the trot.

Swiatek has become the third player to win her first four quarterfinals in the tournament following Monica Seles and Maria Sharapova. She could become the only woman to win back-to-back Indian Wells titles after Martina Navratilova completed the feat in 1990 and 1991.

Iga Swiatek to lock horns with Mirra Andreeva

Following her victory over Qinwen Zheng, Iga Swiatek has set up a semifinal clash with Mirra Andreeva. The Russian went past Elina Svitolina 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.

Mirra Andreeva
Mirra Andreeva (Image via X)

Andreeva arrived at Indian Wells on the back of a successful run at the Dubai Open where she won her first WTA 1000 title with a straight-set win over Clara Tauson. The 17-year-old made her debut in the third WTA 1000 tournament of the season last year but was eliminated in the first round.

Andreeva has now extended her winning streak to 10 matches. Her victory over Svitolina made her the youngest woman to reach two semifinals in the WTA 1000 events. The teenager is also the youngest woman to advance to two semifinals on the trot in the WTA 1000s since Victoria Azarenka in 2009.

Her win also made her the youngest to clinch a double-digit win streak in two decades since Nicole Vaidisova (2005). While Andreeva lifted her first title of the season in Dubai, Swiatek is yet to win a title since the 2024 French Open. Swiatek’s run in Dubai was ended by Andreeva in the quarterfinals.