“She is one of the players I look at,” Iga Swiatek sets eyes on Ash Barty’s No.1 ranking post dream result at Indian Wells
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Iga Swiatek and Ash Barty
Iga Swiatek put on a dominant display against Maria Sakkari in the summit clash of the 2022 Indian Wells Masters to clinch her second consecutive title of the year. With this win, the Pole not only extended her winning streak to 11 matches but also claimed the World No.2 ranking.
With the second spot in the standings on the line, both the finalists had a nervy start and traded breaks of serve in the opening set. But it was Swiatek who got the decisive break and clinched the first set on Sakkari’s serve. The second set was a more straightforward affair as Swiatek eventually found her rhythm to adjust to the windy conditions in the Californian desert, to wrap up the set and match 6-4, 6-1 and clinch a third WTA 1000 title of her career.
“For sure my hard work is paying off“: Iga Swiatek
During the post-match conference, Swiatek reflected on her performance over the course of the tournament. With this win, the 2020 French Open champion, continued her dominant performance in the finals. Since losing the finals in Lugano in 2019, the Pole has won 5 straight matches in a row.
“At the beginning of the tournament, I wouldn’t even think about winning, honestly. Of course, you have to believe in yourself, but I’m a realistic person. Winning after playing so well in Doha is giving me a lot of confidence and kind of belief that I can do it…I wouldn’t think of myself as someone who’s ready to play two tournaments in a row and win it. For sure hard work is paying off,” she said.
Swiatek ties her compatriot Agnieska Radwanska as the highest-ranked Polish woman and she was clearly elated about her accomplishment. But the Pole has already set her sights on her next target, Ash Barty’s top spot in the standings. Swiatek earlier spoke about how Barty influenced her game style and mindset and had an impact on her recent resurgence. And now the Pole is looking to emulate the 3-time Grand Slam champion and dethrone her from the No.1 spot.
“[Sakkari and I are] stepping a similar path, looking at rankings and looking at what we’ve been playing for the last couple of years. Paula Badosa, Anett [Kontaveit], and Ons Jabeur, I don’t want to forget anybody, but I think we kind of started playing, Top 10 tennis at the same time. [The World No.2 ranking is] pretty surreal for now. I have to look at it and I have to check the rankings by myself and just see it. Right now it’s too surreal to describe it, honestly….But for sure I want to go higher because I feel like getting No. 1 is closer and closer. For sure, Ash is one of the players that I want to look at,” she added.
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T Rushitha
(360 Articles Published)