Svitolina gets the better of Swiatek at Indian Wells | OneFootball

Elina Svitolina defeated two-time champion Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells on Thursday, securing a spot in the semifinals against Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina.

The Ukrainian Svitolina, ranked ninth, beat world number two Swiatek 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, while Rybakina thwarted Jessica Pegula’s comeback attempt, defeating the American, ranked fifth, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4).

World number one Aryna Sabalenka kept her quest for a first title at the prestigious ATP and WTA Masters 1000 tournament alive by defeating young Canadian Victoria Mboko 7-6 (7/0), 6-4.

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The Belarusian star will face Czech Linda Noskova, ranked 14th, who ended the run of Australian qualifier Talia Gibson, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.

Svitolina’s aggressive attack was too much for Swiatek, who committed eight double faults and seemed disoriented at the start of the match.

The experienced Svitolina made the most of her early chances and kept her composure in a tense third set.

She secured the only service break of the final set and won the next three games to close out the match.

“I wouldn’t say it was a perfect match, but I managed to stay in the game, fight, and find a way to respond after losing the second set,” Svitolina said.

“There is no champion who waits for their opponents’ mistakes, and you really have to work hard to position yourself well and attack,” she added. “I was trying to open up the court and take advantage, because Iga is a very aggressive player and moves very well. So, if you don’t seize the opportunity, she will.”

Svitolina closed out the match in style, earning a match point with an ace and hitting a forehand volley to reach the Indian Wells semifinals for the first time since 2019.

“You make me feel a bit old with that statistic,” joked the 31-year-old Svitolina, who returned to the world’s top 10 in February for the first time since 2021 and for the first time since becoming a mother.

It was only Svitolina’s second win over Swiatek in six meetings and the first since 2023. But the victory continued Svitolina’s excellent form in 2026, having already won the title in Auckland and finished runner-up in Dubai last month.

For Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, it was another disappointing quarterfinal exit this year, after falling at the same stage at the Australian Open and in Doha.

Rybakina ends Pegula’s streak

Rybakina, Indian Wells champion in 2023, secured her return to the semifinals with another win over Pegula, who was also defeated by the Kazakh in the semifinals in Melbourne.

Rybakina recovered from a service break that had her trailing 4-1 in the second set and put on a serving display in the tiebreak to end Pegula’s eight-match winning streak, the Dubai champion.

*With content from AFP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.