Swiatek dismantles Kostyuk to reach Indian Wells final

WASHINGTON: Top seed Iga Swiatek produced a near-flawless performance to cruise past Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-1 and into the Indian Wells final on Friday, remaining on track for her second title of the year. The 22-year-old Pole could take on U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff in an intriguing title clash if the third-seeded American can beat ninth seed Maria Sakkari of Greece in the second semi-final later.

"For sure I'm happy with the performance. I think it was the cleanest match I played here. It's already a great tournament," Swiatek said. "There's no preference," she said in reference to her potential final competitors. "It would be stupid for me to say anything. Both of them are really great and experienced so they are going to be fighting today and fighting in the final, no matter who is going to be there.

"It's going to be tough anyway." Swiatek, the 2022 champion, made her intentions clear early on with an aggressive start to claim a break for a 2-1 lead. She pulled further away when Kostyuk hit a double fault two games later, wrapping up the opening set in 31 minutes.

The 21-year-old Kostyuk was put through the wringer again by world number one Swiatek at the start of the second set. A powerful smash at the net gave Swiatek another break. The four-times Grand Slam champion withstood some pressure from the 31st seed in the next game before building a 3-0 advantage.

Kostyuk appeared to struggle with a left foot problem and a medical timeout only delayed the inevitable, as Swiatek eased to a WTA Tour-leading 19th match win of the season, finishing off the match with a forehand winner.