AS part of the Indian Wells WTA 1000 Masters coverage, we will be adding the quarter finals scores all in one place, as well as some highlighted matches from the day.

SWIATEK, HALEP DROP THREE GAMES BETWEEN THEM

Two Grand Slam champions with more than a decade of experience between them, made light work of their respective quarter finals opponents yesterday. The pair dropped just three games between them with Iga Swiatek defeating Madison Keys 6-1 6-0, whilst Simona Halep cruised past Petra Martic 6-1 6-1, both in under an hour. Though fans did not get their money’s worth with just one hour and 49 minutes of one-court action, the pair set up a massive semi-final.

“I felt really comfortable,” Swiatek said post-match. “I’m also trying to get some fun as well from matches which are tight. Before where I felt stressed, I couldn’t really make that fun. “But right now I’m more focused on finding solutions and I want every match to be a lesson for me.”

“I think probably [that was my] best match of this year,” Halep said post-match. “I felt super well. I felt confident. I’ve been aggressive. Everything I had to do I did, and it was pretty good. 

“Gives me confidence, gives me the boost that I still can play this level. It’s been a tough year, as you know. Now coming into this tournament and playing well means a lot. I will take all the positives and I will just build my confidence more and more.”

The 2015 Indian Wells winner said she was looking forward to the clash with Swiatek, and hoped to continue her form against the Pole.

“Tough, tough match [against Swiatek next] because she’s playing the best tennis of her life. She’s in the best moment. I expect a really tough one. But I’m here in the semifinal, so I will take that. I will just try my best next one.”

SAKKARI CLAIMS ANOTHER SEMIS SPOT

Greek star Maria Sakkari continued her great form of the past 12 months to win through to the fifth WTA Tour Masters 1000 event of her career. She defeated 17th seed Kazakh Elena Rybakina in two tough sets – after being down 1-4 in the first – eventually coming over the top of her younger opponent, 7-5 6-4.

“I think I had a rough start,” Sakkari said post-match. “I was a little bit nervous. But then I just had faith in my game. I knew that if I could break her back, I would get back into the match. Making a lot of balls after being 4-1 down gave me a good chance to come back into the match. 

“I see that I’m actually very calm and very confident that it’s only a break. Okay, if someone serves lights out, it’s too good. I still have the first set, two more sets to go. That doesn’t really matter. I just accepted the fact I had a bad start, just tried to change things.

“I feel like I’ve improved on my serve, I’ve improved on my groundstrokes. I don’t have a huge hole in my game. There are a lot of things that I can improve, which is something good. Especially mentally, sometimes I have to just be a little bit stronger. But I’m working on that and I think I’ll get where I want to get.”

DEFENDING CHAMP BADOSA ROUNDS OUT FINAL FOUR

Reigning Indian Wells champion Paula Badosa completed the final four set today with a 6-3 6-2 triumph over 21st seed nomad Veronika Kudermetova. The 24-year-old Spaniard proved too good for her opponent, and moved through to the semi-finals to face Sakkari. If she can pull off back-to-back titles, Badosa will become the first person in 30 years to achieve the feat.

The win was made all the more impressive considering Badosa was yet to beat Kudermetova in three of their past meetings. But the form the Spaniard showed on the hard courts – where she won 75 and 68.4 per cent of her first and second serve off a 65.5 per cent clip whilst saving the only break point against her – is why she finds herself in the last four of the tournament.

WOMEN’S QUARTER FINALS RESULTS:

[3] Iga Swiatek (POL) defeated [25] Madison Keys (USA) 6-1 6-0
[5] Paula Badosa (ESP) defeated [21] Veronika Kudermetova (-) 6-3 6-2
[6] Maria Sakkari (GRE) defeated [17] Elena Rybakina (KAZ) 7-5 6-4
[24] Simona Halep (ROU) defeated Petra Martic (CRO) 6-1 6-1