Elena Rybakina holds off Hailey Baptiste in testing Indian Wells opener

INDIAN WELLS – Former champions Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina both survived some tense moments to punch their tickets to the round of 32 at the Indian Wells Open on March 7, with the latter saying that she has learnt not to rush her game.

World No. 2 Swiatek, who lifted the trophy at the prestigious WTA 1000 event in 2022 and 2024, got off to a hot start and worked through a testing finish to beat US qualifier Kayla Day 6-0, 7-6 (7-2).

Rybakina, the 2023 Indian Wells winner and the reigning Australian Open champion, found the going even tougher in a 7-6 (7-5), 2-6, 6-2 victory over 43rd-ranked American Hailey Baptiste.

The Kazakh, seeded third behind world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Swiatek, needed all of her patience and resolve in the face of an aggressive attack from Baptiste.

“It was a really tough match today, but I’m super happy with the win,” Rybakina said.

“She played really well. She was staying aggressive. She has a good serve. I had my opportunities, didn’t get them from the beginning and then I was struggling in the second set, was rushing a bit.

“There are things for sure to improve on.”

After squandering an early break in the opening set, Rybakina fought off three set points to force the tiebreak in which three forehand winners put her in command before she pocketed the set with another.

But she was broken twice in the second set, with Baptiste taking advantage to serve it out after Rybakina double faulted on break point to hand the American a 5-2 lead.

A shaky service game from Baptiste gave Rybakina a break for a 3-1 lead in the third set and from there she was able to roll home, setting up a clash with Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the next round.

Swiatek, meanwhile, sailed through her opening set against left-hander Day only for the 187th-ranked lefty to break the Polish star in the opening game of the second.

She battled back from 0-40 down to avoid trailing 0-3, but when she fell behind 0-40 in the fifth game she could not escape and Day gained another break to lead 5-1. Swiatek responded, winning five straight games as they went to the tiebreak, in which she powered to a 5-0 lead.

“First set showed me exactly how to play. I just didn’t do that at the beginning of the second, so I knew that I can get back to that and turn things around,” she said. “I can be intense but more precise with my footwork and put pressure on my opponent.”

Swiatek, who is hoping a return to a venue she loves will kick-start a season in which she has fallen in the quarter-final stages of both the Australian Open and the Qatar Open, next faces Greece’s Maria Sakkari, a 7-5, 6-0 winner over Austrian wild card Lilli Tagger.

Russian 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, seeking to join Martina Navratilova as the only women to win back-to-back Indian Wells titles, dominated Argentina’s Solana Sierra 6-0, 6-0 and will play Czech Katerina Siniakova next. AFP