Sawt Falasteen - Defending champ Swiatek tops Zheng to reach Indian Wells semi-finals

The world number two from Poland delivered another dominant performance as she continued her bid to become the first woman to win three titles in the California desert.

Swiatek, who won her first Indian Wells title in 2022, could also join Martina Navratilova as the only women to lift the trophy in back-to-back years.

After dropping just two games in each of her first three matches, Swiatek was broken twice as she faced her toughest test so far, but secured the victory with a flourish as she broke Zheng at love in the final game after a brief shower paused play late in the second set.

"It was a weird match with all the breaks and everything, but I wanted to be composed and really focused and I'm glad that I did that," Swiatek said.

Swiatek made another quick start, riding an early break to a 3-0 lead.

Trailing 4-1, Zheng showed signs of life as she took a 40-0 lead in the sixth game. But Swiatek won the next five points for another service break, Zheng giving her an opportunity with a weak backhand that caromed wide off the net cord.

Undaunted, Zheng immediately pulled one break back and held to narrow the gap before Swiatek pocketed the set with a comfortable hold.

Swiatek opened the second set with another break as Zheng again let a 40-0 lead get away. The Chinese player was down two breaks before she managed to hold for 4-1.

- Super tricky -

Swiatek then fought off three break points to move within a game of victory as threatening clouds moved in and the wind picked up.

A brief shower forced a pause as Zheng served to stay in the match, the Chinese player then managing another break before Swiatek seized the win.

"At the end it got really windy, which made it super tricky," said Swiatek, who converted all five of her break chances. "When the conditions change during the match you need to adjust quickly and it's not that easy.

"I'm happy that I was pushing until the end," added Swiatek, who will face either 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva or Ukrainian veteran Elina Svitolina for a place in the final.

Andreeva, who won the title in Dubai last month to become the youngest player to win a WTA 1000 crown, is seeded 11th in her bid to add another prestigious trophy to her shelf.

In other quarter-finals on Thursday, world number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus takes on 25th-ranked Russian Liudmila Samsonova in a battle of big servers.

Australian Open champion Madison Keys faces resurgent Swiss Belinda Bencic.

Keys, ranked a career-high fifth in the world after breaking through for her maiden major in Melbourne, is trying to become the first US woman to lift the title in the California desert since Serena Williams in 2001.

Bencic, the former world number four who received a wild card into the draw, is into her first WTA 1000 quarter-final since becoming a mother last year.

Unranked when she returned to action in October, Bencic has gone from strength to strength, claiming her ninth career title in Abu Dhabi last month to rise to 58th in the world.

G.AbuHamad--SF-PST