Swiatek to face Andreeva, Sabalenka meets Keys in Indian Wells semi-finals
Neeroj
Mar 14, 2025
Defending champion Iga Swiatek beat Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday, avenging her Olympics semi-final loss to the Paris Games gold medallist to reach the last four at Indian Wells.
The world number two from Poland will get a chance to avenge another upset loss in a semi-final clash with Mirra Andreeva -- the 17-year-old Russian who stunned her in the quarter-finals at Dubai last month on the way to becoming the youngest-ever WTA 1000 champion.
The top half of the draw will feature another semi-final grudge match as world number one Aryna Sabalenka takes on Australian Open champion Madison Keys -- who denied Sabalenka's bid for a third straight title in Melbourne.
Swiatek delivered another dominant performance as she continued her bid to become the first woman to win three titles in the California desert.
Swiatek, who won her first Indian Wells title in 2022, could also join Martina Navratilova as the only women to lift the trophy in back-to-back years.
After dropping just two games in each of her first three matches, Swiatek was broken twice as she faced her toughest test so far, but secured the victory with a flourish as she broke Zheng at love in the final game after a brief shower paused play late in the second set.
"It was a weird match with all the breaks and everything, but I wanted to be composed and really focused and I'm glad that I did that," Swiatek said.
She can settle another score against Andreeva, who kept her bid for another prestigious title on track with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Ukrainian veteran Elina Svitolina.
Top-seeded Sabalenka beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 6-3 to set up a meeting with Keys, who eased past former world number four Belinda Bencic 6-1, 6-1.
Keys, coming off a tough three-set win over Donna Vekic, fired 30 winners to put away Bencic in just 64 minutes.
Keys is now riding a 16-match winning streak as she tries to become the first American woman to lift the title in the California desert since Serena Williams in 2001.
Source: AFP
