Iga Swiatek has been playing well at Indian Wells this season. She has yet to drop a set in her first three matches. Swiatek played like a true champion in her fourth-round match against Yulia Putintseva. She was facing Putintseva for the third time on tour. Swiatek is yet to drop a set against her. She even added a funny comment about Putintseva’s attempt to serve an underarm in the match.
In the third game of the second set, Putintseva was defending three breakpoints. The 29-year-old hit an underarm serve which went out, but Swiatek instantly hit it back. The Polish player was asked about playing an underhand serve before. She smiled and said, “I don’t think so, honestly. Maybe they teach that in Kazakhstan. I don’t know.” Swiatek mentioned how Alexander Bublik frequently used it on the ATP tour.
Underarm serve by Putintseva not suprising Iga pic.twitter.com/4W8y3xbdY1
— Ania (@eni_87ch) March 13, 2024
Bublik has been one of the players who does not hesitate to use the underarm serve during his matches repeatedly. But Putintseva could not execute it against Swiatek. The crowd was impressed with how ready Swiatek was as she had returned the serve with a backhand down the line. The same groundstrokes will be expected in her quarterfinal match at Indian Wells.
Iga Swiatek is set to face her childhood idol at Indian Wells
Swiatek is a win away from reaching the semifinals for the third consecutive year at Indian Wells. She has only dropped nine games in three matches. She will next face her former idol in the quarterfinal match. The world No.1 will play against Caroline Wozniacki as it will be their second meeting on the tour. Their first meeting was in the second round at Toronto in 2019.
The 22-year-old had come through the qualifying stages to beat Wozniacki in three sets. Wozniacki was ranked No.19 then but could not overcome Swiatek on the hardcourts. Since then, Swiatek has won four grand slams, while the Danish player retired in 2020 before making a comeback last season. Swiatek used to watch Wozniacki on the court while growing up and knows it will be a tough match.
🇵🇱 Iga Świątek – Caroline Wozniacki w czwartek jako drugi mecz od 19:00 czasu polskiego (czyli ok. 21:00). #czasnatenis pic.twitter.com/3z2yywm0Fr
— Dawid Żbik (@DawidZbik) March 13, 2024
The former world No.1 will be under pressure as Swiatek is the favorite. She has been serving well and has won at least 65 percent of her first serves in each of the matches so far at Indian Wells. Swiatek’s serve has only been broken thrice at Indian Wells this time. Wozniacki hopes to end points quickly while trying to dismantle Swiatek’s defense strategy.
