Iga Swiatek cruises into semifinals, wins 10th straight at Indian Wells
On paper it was a mismatch, but on the court ... well, it was a mismatch. That's just the way it is on the women's tour right now as world No. 1 Iga Swiatek is as confident as ever.
Swiatek defeated Sorana Cirstea, a surprise quarterfinalist from Romania ranked No. 83 in the world, 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday to reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open. She is the defending champion here and has now won 10 straight matches at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
There were other streaks at play on Thursday that didn't bode well for the veteran Cirstea who was participating in her 11th BNP Paribas Open. Swiatek has now won 44 straight matches against players outside the top 50. She also hasn't dropped a set in Indian Wells this year, or in any of the matches she's won in 2023.
Swiatek will play No. 10 seed Elena Rybakina, the woman who knocked her out of this year's Australian Open, in one of Friday's semifinal. The other pits Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari.
BNP Paribas Open order of play for Friday: Best of the best in women's tennis on display
"She's playing really well," Swiatek said of her next opponent Rybakina who beat her 6-4, 6-4 in Australia. "In the semifinal, you're always going to play against a top player so I'll be ready. Obviously, last time we played was in Australia which is entirely different conditions, so I'll prepare the same and give it 100 percent."
Swiatek's win means the reigning champion at all four Grand Slams will be in the semifinals of this year's BNP Paribas Open. Swiatek punches that box for both the French Open and the U.S. Open, Sabalenka just won the Australian Open and Rybakina won Wimbledon. Sakkari made the final at this event in 2022.
Cirstea finished a remarkable tournament for her, going to the quarterfinals, her deepest run in 11 attempts at Indian Wells. Her victory over No. 5 seed Caroline Garcia in the previous round was her first over a top 10 player in two years.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: BNP Paribas Open: Iga Swiatek cruises into semis, wins 10th straight at Indian Wells
