Iga Swiatek, Madison Keys and Harriet Dart moved into the fourth round on Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open.
Third seed Iga Swiatek beat Clara Tauson 6(3)-7 6-2 6-1. This was the Polish slam champion’s second match at Indian Wells and the second one in which she had to come back after dropping the first set. Swiatek is not discouraged by this, “I felt like physically I’m really well prepared and I could use all my strengths, even after two hours of playing. So I’m pretty proud of that.”
Swiatek did not let the first set result impact her confidence or deter her from playing her game. She explained to press, “I knew that I’m playing good and I think my level was high in the first set. I wasn’t sure what to change actually because usually I know what the solutions are, but today I felt like I’m doing a good job and some balls for sure I was missing. It’s because of the conditions here, so I kind of have to forget that, forgive myself for making those mistakes.”
Harriet Dart continued her solid run, backing up her second round defeat of Elina Svitolina. The Brit defeated Kaia Kanepi 7-6(4) 6-3 in the third round. Speaking with reporters after the match, she told the BBC’s Russel Fuller “I put in the work day in, day out and to finally be able to put a run like this through. It’s not by chance. And as much as my ranking might not show where my level is, I’ve always believed that my level’s been there.” She added, “It’s just about being able to put it on the match court with each match.”
Dart faces Madison Keys on Tuesday, but is not allowing the match-up with an American on home soil to get under her skin. She said, “I feel I have nothing to lose most matches, to be honest. I think I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform well.”
Keys beat fellow American Alison Riske 7-6(4) 6-1 to reach the fourth round. Keys took time to get settled into the match, and admitted it was not her best tennis: “I think kind of in the middle of the tiebreaker I found my rhythm a little bit better, feeling a little bit more confident. Then I think my serve started working a little bit better in the second set.”
Monday’s action will feature the remaining eight third-round matches, in the bottom half of the draw. Victoria Azarenka and Leylah Fernandez will highlight the day.
