“I’m not the underdog anymore” Iga Swiatek wins her ‘toughest match’ of the tournament as she defeats Simona Halep to reach the Indian Wells finals
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Iga Swiatek
World No. 4 and the 3rd seed at the 2022 Indian Wells Open, Iga Swiatek is into the finals of the competition for the first time in what is just her second tournament appearance. Up against Simona Halep, the champion in the 2015 edition, Iga won a nailbiting match 7-6(6), 6-4 in 1 hour and 49 minutes to register her 10th consecutive win of the season.
While Iga dropped a set in all three matches at the start of the tournament, she won her quarter-final and semi-final match in straight-sets. This was her 4th encounter with Halep and the 20-year old is now 2-2 against the former World No. 1 in head-to-head. Being a break down in both sets, Iga had to rally back which also saw her save set points in the first set.
“[The match against Halep] was the toughest one. Even though I was losing the first set sometimes [earlier in the fortnight], I still felt like I had a little bit more control over how the match is going. Today I had to come back from some breaks as well, so I think mentally it was the toughest one. Also coming back in that tiebreaker, it cost me a lot of energy, for sure. I think I would say it was the most exciting one probably if I was watching it.
“Things are a bit different now. I feel like I have much more experience that I can use but also with that comes expectations a little bit so I feel like I’m not the underdog anymore and I want to show that what I’ve learnt. That is the different mindset. I have to get used to not being the underdog anymore,” said Iga after the match during her press conference.
Iga Swiatek to take on Maria Sakkari in the finals
6th seeded Maria Sakkari defeats defending champion Paula Badosa in the semi-finals to enter the finals in the hunt for her first title of the season. Sakkari won the match 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 in 1 hour and 48 minutes to reach her second final of the season. Maria had not dropped a set before her semi-final clash.
Iga will however be looking to repeat her feat in Doha and pick up her second title of the season and also her 3rd WTA-1000 title. Having defeated Maria in the semi-finals in Doha earlier this month, the Pole will be looking to replicate that and take home another title as the winner of the finals is guaranteed to become the new World No. 2.
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Sarthak Shitole
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