Iga Swiatek cemented her place at the top of the women's tennis rankings and Carlos Alcaraz installed himself as heir apparent to Novak Djokovic following victories in the finals at the Indian Wells tournament in the United States on Sunday.
Swiatek's win over the ninth seed Maria Sakkari furnished her with her second title in California as well as 1000 points to push her lead over Aryna Sabalenka to more than 2500 points.
Two years ago, Swiatek won her first Indian Wells trophy at the expense of Sakkari. The Pole emerged a 6-4, 6-1 winner from that showdown. T
The rematch was a slightly more savage 6-4, 6-0 triumph.
"There are going to be ups and downs still, so I don't expect I'm always going to feel comfortable with pressure," Swiatek said. "Sometimes it hits harder; sometimes it doesn't hit at all."
During her surge to the 19th title of her career, the 22-year-old did not lose a set and dropped 21 games across her six matches – the fewest games lost on the way to the title in 30 years.
In 2022, Swiatek moved onto Florida where she claimed the Miami Open to complete the "Sunshine Double".
As she starts her 95th week as world number one, Swiatek will be hot favourite to add another of the tennis circuit's most prestigious prizes to her trophy cabinet and become only the second woman after Steffi Graf in 1994 and 1996 to collect the "Sunshine Double" twice.
Dominance
In claiming his second consecutive Indian Wells title, Alcaraz saw off the challenge of the fourth seed Daniil Medvedev.
The 20-year-old Spaniard beat the Russian 7-6, 6-1 to hoist his first trophy since winning Wimbledon last July.
Pink (2023) or Blue (2024)? @carlosalcaraz | #TennisParadise | #IndianWells pic.twitter.com/vFxCWm2HOY
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 18, 2024
He became the first men’s player to win successive titles in Indian Wells since Djokovic’s feat of three titles between 2014 and 2016.
Alcaraz also joined his compatriot Rafael Nadal in winning five events at the Masters 1000 series before the age of 21.
"It means a lot to me, lifting this trophy and winning this tournament," said Alcaraz. "I overcame a lot of problems in my head and a lot of problems physically."
