The rematch: Iga Świątek to face Maria Sakkari for another BNP Paribas Open title
Maria Sakkari of Greece pushed through a match Friday night that ended five hours after it began to force a 2022 finals rematch in women’s singles at the BNP Paribas Open. In Sunday’s final, Sakkari will face the top-ranked player in the world in Polish tennis star Iga Świątek.
The match is set for 11 a.m. at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and will precede the men’s final Sunday afternoon.
Sakkari, the ninth seed at Indian Wells, beat American Coco Gauff in three sets on Friday to secure her spot in the final. Sakkari, 28, holds a 3-2 advantage over Świątek in head-to-head matches. But Świątek has won the last two of those five matches, and the two have not faced each other since Świątek beat Sakkari decisively in straight sets in the 2022 BNP Paribas Open final.
“You know, having that (3-2) lead doesn't really mean anything, because she's the best player right now in the world,” Sakkari said of Świątek following her semifinal win over American Coco Gauff. “I'm just going to try and keep that lead and stay two wins ahead of her. But it's just going to be very, very tricky.”
Świątek, 22, has won 15 of her last 16 matches at Indian Wells and is 17-2 overall in four main draw appearances at the tournament. She has also not dropped a single set in five matches this year at Indian Wells.
She has gone largely unchallenged in the draw this year, in part because she has not faced a player ranked in the top 20 in her five matches in Indian Wells. Sakkari will be her first.
Sakkari may also have more momentum, playing her best tennis in months with new coach David Witt. Sunday will be Sakkari’s first final since she won a title at Guadalajara last September, and she had to beat third-ranked Gauff and American Emma Navarro, who with 18 wins has the second-most wins on the tour this year.
After a less than ideal start to the year, Sakkari is starting to play her best tennis again. Maybe that carries over into Sunday’s final against the top-ranked player in the world.
“We always say in tennis one day can change everything,” Sakkari said. “A month ago, I was in Abu Dhabi, and I couldn't hit a ball over the net. Now I'm just here in one of the biggest tournaments playing another final. It's just that those are lessons and those are things that you have to just accept the more you're on the tour, that you're going to have some bad times, and then things can really change in a week.”
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Iga Świątek to face Maria Sakkari for another BNP Paribas Open title
