Swiatek strolls into last 16 of Indian Wells by getting revenge over Noskova

Iga Swiatek is into the last 16 of Indian Wells after coming back from an early deficit to land some measure of revenge over Linda Noskova.

Noskova was Swiatek’s conqueror in the third round of the Australian Open earlier this year, but it was a different story in the desert as the Pole eased through for the loss of just four games.

Swiatek had beaten American home favourite Danielle Collins 6-3 6-0 in the second round to set up this tie with her teenage opponent, but the world No. 1 started uncharacteristically slowly as Noskova got into her rhythm and began to dictate the early points from the baseline.

The top seed found herself 2-4 down in the opening set against the Czech no. 26 seed, but the Pole rallied and got a foothold back into the match, reeling off four games to take the opener.

Swiatek ultimately used that as a foundation to build on, and she stormed to victory thereafter with a second-set bagel, rounding off the encounter in one hour and 12 minutes.

Swiatek had won nine straight games against Collins in the round of 64, and she won 10 on the bounce against Noskova as she showed her ruthlessness and spirit to fight back from a losing position at a tournament that she won back in 2022.

Swiatek’s win sets up a last-16 tie with either Madison Keys, semi-finalist at the US Open last year, or Yulia Putintseva, the unseeded Kazakh.