California, March 17 (Agency) Polish tennis player Iga Swiatek won her ninth consecutive WTA 1000 match, defeating Madison Keys of the United States 6-1, 6-0 in the Indian Wells Open quarterfinals on Wednesday evening. The No.3 seed Swiatek will take on the 2015 champion Simona Halep in the semifinal. The Romanian beat Petra Martic of Croatia 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinal. Swiatek and Halep have met three time, but all at Grand Slam matches. While Halep defeated Swiatek during the 2019 French Open, Swiatek avenged it in the 2020 edition.
However, Halep got the better of Swiatek at the 2020 Australian Open. The Pole became the first player to reach the semifinals or better at four events this season. Along with her title run at Doha, Swiatek reached the semifinals of the Australian Open and the Adelaide International 1. “I felt really comfortable,” said Swiatek after defeating Keys. “I’m also trying to get some fun as well from matches which are tight. Before where I felt stressed, I couldn’t really make that fun. But right now I’m more focused on finding solutions and I want every match to be a lesson for me. “I think Ash Barty has this kind of mindset. When she feels like the match is really tight, she treats it like a great experience because she can find solutions, actually be focused on that. It’s a great challenge for her. I’m also trying to find fun when I’m playing, when the score is pretty tight.”