Opposed to Claire Liu for her debut in the WTA tournament in Indian Wells, Iga Swiatek left the American only one game in a match completed in just over an hour.
Iga Swiatek was not determined to waste time. Two weeks after her failure in the final in Dubai, the world number 1 was ruthless with Claire Liu, her opponent in the second round of the WTA tournament in Indian Wells, of which she is the defending champion. The 56th World started the meeting with good intentions, not dropping a single point. However, after seeing the world No. 1 win her first face-off, the 56th in the WTA ranking tried everything to resist but, after missing two play points, she gave in.
Winning four consecutive points, the Pole broke her opponent from the start before confirming on a shutout. From then on, the number 1 seed played her game in a first round that was ultimately one-sided. Taking Claire Liu’s serve a second time on a shutout, Iga Swiatek then dropped just two points in the next two.
The perfect start to her title defense ✨@iga_swiatek drops just one game to reach the third round.#TennisParadise pic.twitter.com/VSV0EoCnjt
— wta (@WTA) March 11, 2023
Swiatek not worried by Liu
The second set point was good for the boss of the women’s circuit after just 26 minutes. The second round started like the first with the American who struggled to put her opponent in difficulty but without however going through with her intentions. After holding her serve with difficulty, Iga Swiatek raised her voice to take that of Claire Liu. A break immediately confirmed then followed by a second.
The American defended herself, fending off two balls that would have caused her to lose her serve. However, then missing a play point, the 56th in the world knelt down. Led five games to one, Claire Liu knew how to make her pride speak in order to rule out a match point on her commitment. However, Iga Swiatek found the solution to seal the fate of this meeting on his face-off (6-0, 6-1 in 1h06 ‘). For her second match in California, the Pole will face American Peyton Stearns or seeded number 32 Bianca Andreescu.
