BNP Paribas Open: Defending champion Iga Świątek wins tough Indian Wells match over Bianca Andreescu
Iga Świątek saved a series of game points in the fifth game of the first set Monday in what turned out to be the turning point in her match against Bianca Andreescu at the BNP Paribas Open.
Had Andreescu won the game, she would have gone up a break in the set against the No. 1 player in the women’s game.
Instead, Świątek avoided the break to hold serve, then went up a break in the next game in a series of events that allowed her to take charge of the first set.
The 6-3, 7-6(1) win moved last year’s BNP Paribas Open champion into the Round of 16. She will play 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu on Tuesday evening on Stadium Court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
"It was a really tight match," Świątek said, "and I'm really happy that I actually played such a tight match, because now I see how I can handle those situations after couple of matches that were kind of one way."
Andreescu, the 22-year-old Canadian who had her breakthrough in winning the 2019 BNP Paribas Open and then the 2019 U.S. Open, entered the draw as the 32nd seed. But her history of rising to the occasion in big moments made her a solid candidate to upset Świątek, the top-ranked player in the world.
“I know I’m training well, I’m playing well,” Andreescu said, “So I knew that my game was definitely going to level up to hers. I didn’t know that she was going to play that well, but that’s what you have to expect from the world No. 1.”
Andreescu appeared to be on her way to doing just that when she opened the match by immediately going up a break. But Świątek, the 21-year-old Polish tennis star, broke Andreescu back to avoid going down 2-0 in the first set.
The two players each held serve before the fifth game, which was significant. In front of several thousand inside Stadium 1, Andreescu and Świątek traded shots back and forth. Andreescu seemed to understand the importance of again going up a break, so she chased down every ball, seemingly exhausting herself.
Świątek, who has lost a set in just three of her 17 matches this year, hung on to win the game that seemed to turn the momentum of the match.
Świątek then immediately went up a break in the second set and held serve to take a 2-0 lead. Andreecu’s frustration nearly boiled over when she overshot the baseline and threw her racket into the air before chasing and catching it.
Still, Andreescu stayed in the match, and managed to break Świątek back to even the score. Świątek missed a shot on the right sideline, then the baseline, and Andreescu scored on an overhand smash and when Świątek’s drop shot failed to make it over the net.
Andreescu then took the lead by holding serve, then increased her lead to 4-2 when she went up a break in the sixth game.
But Świątek took the match over from there. She held serve and then broke Andreescu back to even the score. Then, in the eventual tiebreak, she scored the first four points and held Andreescu off to win the match.
"I think my level of focus went up a little bit," Świątek said. "I was trying to do that throughout the whole match, but for sure in the tiebreaker I felt like I'm the most focused and composed and really mentally there to finish in a solid way."
Andreescu had three words to sum up the tiebreak.
“A complete domination,” Andreescu said. “I did not think I played much less or much more than I played the whole match, she just pounced on every ball.”
Through to the next round, Świątek pumped her fist as her face remained stoic immediately following the win.
“My goal here is to approach every match the same way,” Świątek said, “whether it’s second round or the final. I’m pretty sure that I got into the rhythm already, so hopefully I’m going to play better and better every match.”
Andrew John covers the BNP Paribas Open for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: BNP Paribas Open: Iga Świątek beats Bianca Andreescu at Indian Wells
