World No. 2 Iga Swiatek advanced past Kayla Day in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Saturday. While the Polish star easily took the first set, she struggled in the second, ultimately winning in a tiebreak. However, it wasn’t just the match that was challenging for Swiatek for a moment.
The six-time Grand Slam champion supposedly seemed to be battling a mysterious virus affecting the Masters 1000 event in California, as a tennis analyst noted her using many tissues and Kleenex during service breaks. This comes just days after Ben Shelton and Matteo Berrettini complained about fighting a cold during their matches.
Shelton had complained of suffering from a flu-like virus after his chaotic opening round win against fellow American Reilly Opelka. In contrast, Berrettini complained of the same after his R1 win against Adrian Mannarino.
“I fought really hard until the very last point. At the beginning of the third [set], I started to feel a little bit of cramping. I was a little bit surprised at the beginning but then I remembered that I was sick until three days ago, so I was like, ‘Okay, it’s normal’,” Berrettini said in his post-game interview.
As for Swiatek, while she looked comfortable on court during the rallies and service games.
Iga Swiatek Sets up Indian Wells Rematch With Maria Sakkari
The two-time Indian Wells champion will now be taking on Maria Sakkari in R3 of the BNP Paribas Open. This will be the third time the duo has faced each other at this WTA 1000 event, and their first meeting in the preliminary rounds. Both their previous meetings were in the tournament final, which the Pole won in 2022 and 2024.
Sakkari and Swiatek share a 4-4 head-to-head record in eight previous meetings, with the Greek getting the better of the four-time Roland Garros champion in their most recent clash at Doha in the Qatar Open quarterfinals. It will be a feisty clash on Sunday as Swiatek stays on the hunt for her maiden title of the season.
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