World No. 1, Poland’s Iga Swiatek, qualified for the final four of the WTA 1000 tournament in Indian Wells on Thursday without having to play a full match.
Swiatek took advantage of the retirement of the Dane Caroline Wozniacki, herself a former No. 1 in the WTA rankings, at the very start of the second set, due to injury.
After trailing 1-4 in the first set, Swiatek regained his composure, winning five games in a row to win 6-4.
Physically diminished after her excellent start to the match, Wozniacki announced to the referee that she wanted to stop the confrontation shortly after the restart, at 1-0.
The Dane is attempting a return to the court at age 33, after the birth of her second child in 2022.
Furthermore, in another duel played on Thursday, the Ukrainian Maria Kostyuk, 31st seed, advanced to the last four for the first time in her career in a WTA 1000 tournament.
Kostyuk, who will meet Swiatek for a place in the final, dominated Russian Anastasia Potapova (No. 28), 6-0, 7-5 at the start of the program.
In the only meeting to date between the two players, it was Swiatek who won 6-3, 6-4 in the round of 16 at Roland-Garros in 2021.
The Greek Maria Sakkari concluded the evening with a victory in three sets of 5-7, 6-2 and 6-4 against the American Emma Navarro. Sakkari thus finds himself in the semi-final of Indian Wells for the third year in a row.
The match lasted two hours and 54 minutes, the third longest of the tournament for women so far in 2024. The ninth racket in the world will cross swords with Coco Gauff, another American, on Friday.
2024-03-14 21:16:00
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