Elena Rybakina dominates top seed Iga Swiatek to reach Indian Wells final

Elena Rybakina defeated the world number one Iga Swiatek 6:2 and 6:2 and secured a place in the women’s final of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

The 10th-ranked Kazakh scored two wins over Swiatek this season in a dominating performance after defeating Pole in the fourth round at the Australian Open.

Rybakina was in control from the start and consolidated an early break to take a 3-0 lead before winning the opener in just 36 minutes.

The reigning Wimbledon winner was even more impressive in the second set.

It took her just 20 minutes to build a 4-0 lead before Swiatek was finally able to put up some resistance by holding serve at 5-1.

Swiatek earned her first break of the match in the following game, but it ultimately wasn’t enough as Rybakina clinched an overwhelming victory.

The result represents a repeat of the Australian Open final after Aryna Sabalenka claimed a 6-2, 6-3 victory over world number seven Maria Sakkari in the semifinals.

Sabalenka defeated Rybakina 4-6 6-3 6-4 in Melbourne in January to claim her first major title.