Swiatek stops Sakkari easily to win her second Indian Wells title
No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland needed just 68 minutes to cruise past ninth-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece 6-4, 6-0 to win the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday in Indian Wells, Calif.
It marked the second time that Swiatek, ranked No. 1 in the world, and Sakkari met in the final of the WTA 1000 event. In 2022, Swiatek had a similarly easy time in defeating Sakkari 6-4, 6-1.
Now, the 22-year-old has claimed her second Indian Wells title and her eighth career WTA 1000 victory to go with four Grand Slams.
Swiatek did not drop a set and lost only 21 total games throughout her run at Indian Wells. After Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki retired during her quarterfinal match, Swiatek swept past Ukrainian No. 31 seed Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-1.
Sunday, Swiatek won 22 of her 29 first-service points and converted five of eight break points against Sakkari. She also won more than half of her first-return points (15 of 27) and her second-return points (10 of 17).
The first set was tied at 4 before Swiatek switched into high gear and won eight consecutive games to cap the tournament.
Sakkari, 28, came up short of her second career WTA 1000 triumph. After winning the Guadalajara Open last year in her second final appearance, she couldn’t replicate that success in California against Swiatek, but it did not have her down.
“I just loved every minute of it and hopefully I can come back stronger next time,” Sakkari said.
Sakkari won a healthy 11 of 20 first-service points in the first set but just one of seven in the second set as Swiatek got on her roll.
Elsewhere: No. 2 seed
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Russian fourth seed
Daniil Medvedev both prevailed in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., on Saturday, setting up a rematch of last year’s final. Alcaraz came away with the title in 2023, sweeping Medvedev 6-3, 6-2. On Saturday, last year’s finalists were forced to rally, with Alcaraz beating thirdseeded Italian Jannik Sinner 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, while Medvedev picked up a 1-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 victory over 17th seed Tommy Paul of the United States.
ETC.
NBA: Bobby Portis
matched his season-high with 31 points on 13-of-20 shooting off the bench, and his electric second-quarter performance helped fuel a stretch that gave the Milwaukee Bucks a lead en route to a 140-129 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns on Sunday. Damian Lillard also scored 31 points as the Bucks won without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo,
who was a late scratch due to hamstring soreness. Bradley Beal led the Suns with 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor. Former Bucks guard Grayson Allen scored 25 points and shot 6 of 11 from threepoint range with eight assists.
NHL: Jonny Brodzinski scored the tiebreaking goal with 4:59 remaining in the second period as the host New York Rangers pulled away for a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday afternoon. Nearly a month after rallying for a 6-5 overtime win at the Stadium Series in East Rutherford, the Rangers trailed briefly and gave a one-goal lead before scoring the final three goals in the first of three meetings between the teams in the final month of the regular season. Mika Zibanejad and Will Cuylle scored in New York’s threegoal second period. Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere tallied in the third as the Rangers won for the fifth time in six games and improved to 16-3-1 in their past 20 contests.
College football: Jerome Bettis Jr. is following in the footsteps of his Super Bowl champion father, committing Sunday to Notre Dame. The younger Bettis is a 6-foot-2 wide receiver who plays at Woodward Academy in the Atlanta area. He is listed by the 247Sports composite as a three-star prospect in the
Class of 2025. His father played three seasons at Notre Dame (1990-92) and was the No. 10 overall pick by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1993 NFL Draft. He played three seasons with the Rams, then 10 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning the Super Bowl in his final campaign. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
College basketball:
North Carolina State’s improbable Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball tournament title triggered a contract extension and big raise for head coach Kevin Keatts. Under the terms of his contract, Keatts will receive a two-year contract extension that runs through April 2030. In addition, he has earned a $400,000 raise, effective with the 2024-25 season, as well as a $100,000 bonus for winning the tournament. He also will be paid a bonus of at least $10,000 for qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, with the Wolfpack’s seeding determining the actual amount. The contract also includes bonuses for wins in the tournament . ... After guiding Ohio State to a 6-2 record when he took over the program in February, interim head coach Jake Diebler is expected to be named the Buckeyes’ head coach, per an ESPN report. After Chris Holtmann
was fired on Valentine’s
Day following a tough start in Big Ten conference play, all Diebler did in his debut was steer Ohio State to a 73-69 upset of then-No. 2 Purdue. The Buckeyes reeled off five straight wins under Diebler, reaching the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals before losing to Illinois 77-74 on Friday.
Golf: While leadership groups of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf are expected to convene this week, with a cordial tone expected, disagreement in at least one area appears to be ahead, according to Golf Digest. The team play concept that has marked LIV Golf’s short tenure, is not a desired concept by the PGA Tour, at least according to one of the PGA Tour’s directors Leadership groups of the two tours are expected to meet following the conclusion of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, according to the report . ... Xander Schauffele shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead over Wyndham Clark after three rounds of action at The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach. Clark, the reigning U.S. Open champ, enjoyed a four-shot lead over Schauffele and Canadian Nick Taylor entering play Saturda.
Brian Harman carded the low round of the day with a 64 to reach 15 under, two strokes behind Schauffele.