Iga Swiatek shows true colours with message to Indian Wells rival she thrashed 6-2 6-0 | Tennis | Sport

Iga Swiatek showed her class as she took to social media to address Karolina Muchova after a dominant display in Indian Wells. Muchova has often caused Swiatek some trouble in matches, and the world No. 2 even branded her opponent the “women’s Roger [Federer]” ahead of their sixth meeting.

But the two-time former champion looked relentless as she thrashed Muchova 6-2 6-0 in a little over an hour on Tuesday morning to reach the quarter-finals in Indian Wells. The Czech star came into the Californian desert full of confidence after lifting a maiden WTA 1000 title in Doha last month, but was no match for Swiatek.

The six-time Grand Slam champion is admittedly a big fan of Muchova, and publicly thanked her rival after booking her spot in the last eight. “Thank you @karolinamuchova it’s always a pleasure to share the court with you,” Swiatek wrote on Instagram, alongside three photos from the match. “On to the next one tomorrow. Quarterfinals, let’s go.”

Swiatek piled praise on Muchova ahead of their Indian Wells fourth-round clash. “I can remember all these matches I played against her, sometimes I was down, like, break in third, you know. She’s an amazing player, and most of the times, we played really tight matches,” the No. 2 seed recalled.

“It’s going to be tough, and I’m ready for the battle. Honestly, I love playing against her. I also love watching Karolina. Yeah, it’s just nice to see someone who plays so smart and so smooth. She’s like woman’s Roger.”

And the praise continued after the match. During her on-court interview, Swiatek admitted the world No. 13 was her “favourite” player to watch on the women’s circuit. This was Muchova’s first loss since late January, when Coco Gauff beat her in the fourth round of the Australian Open.

Swiatek is now through to her fifth quarter-final in the Californian desert. She was pushed in a tight second set against Kayla Day in her opening match, but has otherwise looked near-flawless this fortnight. She also avenged a recent defeat to Maria Sakkari in the third round.

Asked how things fell into place, the two-time former champion replied: “ I wouldn’t say it clicked, because there wasn’t one exact moment, but I also played good in Warsaw before coming here. Obviously, when you change conditions from, like, minus-something winter indoors to Indian Wells, your tennis is going to feel that.

“So first days for sure weren’t super smooth, but I think later on, I came back to being a solid me. And, yeah, honestly most of the practices were good, but also, I wasn’t expecting, like, any fireworks, because honestly, it’s just a practice, like you can’t judge from the practice anyway.

“If you’re going to feel amazing on the practice and then suddenly something isn’t going to go as you planned on the match, it feels even worse. So I’d rather, like, really take it easy, not have any expectations after practices, and just work as hard as possible but then be ready for matches anyway.”

EXPRESS SPORT ON FB! Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page