Iga Swiatek and Daniil Medvedev made their way into the Indian Wells quarter-finals on Tuesday, both delivering dominant performances. Swiatek, a two-time champ, absolutely crushed Karolina Muchova 6-1, 6-1, while Medvedev made quick work of Tommy Paul with a 6-4, 6-0 win.
Swiatek has been on fire in this tournament, barely giving her opponents any room to breathe. She’s only dropped six games in three matches—yeah, six. Meanwhile, Medvedev had to wait through some annoying rain delays but wasted no time once he hit the court. He came out swinging, winning the first four games in just 12 minutes. He had a bit of a wobble in the first set but quickly took control, sealing the second set easily with a double break. Up next for him? A clash with Arthur Fils, who knocked out Marcos Giron in three sets (6-2, 2-6, 6-3).
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Swiatek wasn’t messing around either. After sitting through the rain delay, she came out and dominated, winning the first four games in a blink. She didn’t even drop a single first-serve point in the opening set. Muchova, who had an incredible run to the U.S. Open semis last year, just couldn’t find her rhythm this time.
“Sometimes matches can be pretty weird,” Swiatek admitted. “It’s enough for one player to not feel perfect and the other to feel great. Then suddenly the difference is much bigger than it usually is.
“We practised last week and we had a pretty similar level. It’s tennis. Things like that can happen. But for sure I used my opportunities and I used my chances and I was pretty focused and composed.
“It’s not easy, but I can imagine that it looks like it.”
Swiatek might have a tougher challenge ahead, as she’ll face Olympic champ Zheng Qinwen, who knocked out Marta Kostyuk 6-3, 6-2 in the night session.
Meanwhile, in a major upset, Elina Svitolina took down fourth seed Jessica Pegula 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 in a match that lasted forever thanks to a three-hour rain delay. This will be Svitolina’s first quarter-final at Indian Wells in six years, and she’s set to face Mirra Andreeva next. Andreeva didn’t mess around either, smashing defending champ Elena Rybakina 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour. The ninth-seeded Andreeva is looking dangerous, especially after winning the Dubai title recently.
On the men’s side, Holger Rune ended Stefanos Tsitsipas’ seven-match winning streak with a solid 6-4, 6-4 win. And let’s talk about that insane ‘tweener he pulled off—it was straight out of a highlight reel. Down break point in the second set, Rune somehow flicked a shot from behind the baseline that landed deep in Tsitsipas’ court, leaving him completely stranded.
“I stayed very committed on my game plan and mentally I was very good. That made the difference, how composed I could start. Because Stef is back in shape I think it is fair to say. It was a cool battle,” Rune said.
Rune’s next opponent? Tallon Griekspoor, who got past Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki 7-6(4), 6-1 to make his first-ever Masters 1000 quarter-final.
Things are heating up in Indian Wells, and with big names still in the mix, the next round is gonna be fun to watch.
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