Swiatek crushes Collins, Kerber rallies past Ostapenko

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek defeated American Danielle Collins 6-3, 6-0, Angelique Kerber upset 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko, and defending champion Elena Rybakina withdrew due to illness in second round action at Indian Wells on Friday.

Swiatek defeated Collins in an epic at the Australian Open, and the two familiar foes appeared poised for another epic when they were on serve, with the Pole leading 4-3 in the opening set.

Swiatek, however, raised her game, breaking to love 5-3 and winning the final nine games to advance to the tournament she won in 2022.

"I started to make a few less mistakes, which gave Danielle a chance to make a few more," Swiatek said.

"It's a small difference but at the end, I was ready to play well in those important moments, on break points and stuff like that. I'm happy I kept my focus and stayed with my game, no matter what Danielle was doing on the other side of the net."

Collins announced in January that she would retire at the end of the season, so this will likely be her final appearance at Indian Wells.

The American defeated Swiatek convincingly to reach the Australian Open final in 2022 and achieve a career high world ranking of seventh.

Kerber won her biggest match in three years, defeating hard-hitting Latvian Ostapenko 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

The German, who returned to the tour in January after an 18-month maternity leave, delivered an unreturnable serve on match point to secure her first victory over a top-10 opponent since November 2021.

"This question I heard a lot, why I'm back and what gives me the motivation," the three-times Grand Slam champion said.

"For me, the biggest motivation is the love for the sport. I love to compete, being out there today as well, having this crowd, having the emotions, this gives me everything."

"Now, having my daughter on my side, it's even more inspiring for me to have her, and there's something bigger than tennis as well."

In another upset, 22-year-old American Katie Volynets upset sixth seed Ons Jabeur 6-4 6-4 and will face Caroline Wozniacki in the third round, after the Dane defeated Donna Vekic 7-6(5), 6-3.

Rybakina, the world's fourth-ranked tennis player, was forced to withdraw "with great sadness" on Friday due to gastrointestinal issues.

Other players who advanced to the third round of the WTA 1000 event in the California desert included seventh-seeded Czech Marketa Vondrousova, Brazil's Beatriz Haddad Maia, and Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.

SportsLigue