Iga Swiatek secured yet another 6-0 set on her way to beating Maria Sakkari to win the Indian Wells title for a second time.
The records continue to tumble for this remarkable 22-year-old, as she cemented her position as world No 1 with a dominant success in the Californian desert.
Swiatek now has the most titles after her first 23 WTA level finals in the Open Era, winning 19 and drawing level with Chris Evert, Gail Sherriff and Nancy Richey on that list.
Only the great Martina Navratilova (44) has won more top-10 matches within her first 50 such clashes in the last 40 years than Swiatek (36), while the current world No 1 is the fourth player in the 2000s with multiple such streaks after Venus Williams, Justine Henin and Serena Williams.
Once again, her winning margin was ominously dominant, with her incredible record of winning sets 6-0 continuing against an overwhelmed Sakkari.
She lost only 21 games on her way to the Indian Wells title, which is fewer than any female or male player since 1999 at this tournament.
“It’s amazing standing here again but first of all congrats to Maria,” she said in her on-court interview.
“You’re truly one of the kindest people in the locker room. Thank you for making the locker room a nicer place
“I want to thank my team. I don’t even know what for! Every little thing that we work on works on the court.
“We’re going to celebrate! Thank you for making this feel like home.
“I felt like in the second set, I played really well. I didn’t want to let Maria feel comfortable and get back into the match.
“I’m really happy that I played tactically well and I managed to maintain my focus, as that’s not easy when you are 4-0 up and it seems you like you are going to win.
“I tried to play a little more aggressively in the second set and I think it worked well.”
Sakkari also gave her verdict as she said: “Sorry I couldn’t put up a better fight. Credit to Iga. You’re an amazing player and an incredible champion.
“I’m really hoping we can play a lot more finals. I wish I could stay here longer, but it’s the last day of the tournament so I cannot stay here any longer.”
Former British No 1 Annabel Croft offered up her verdict on the Swiatek winning mentality, as she looked invincible once again.
“It’s so impressive, isn’t it? She just has this winning formula” said Croft on Sky Sports Tennis.
“She was given quite a test in that first set. It was just getting interesting, she was starting to lose control on the ball and making more unforced errors.
“Things were getting edge but you have to admire how patient she was and calm she was. Once she got that first set under her belt she just doesn’t let up. She doesn’t give opponents an opportunity. She takes away their strengths.
“She starts to step on the gas and romps away. Sakkari did not know what to do.”
Swiatek will now head to Miami as the red-hot favourite to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’ for the second time in three years, with her 2022 success coming at the start of her reign as the queen’s of the women’s game.
Two years on and her grip on women’s tennis shows no sign of waning, especially when he takes a lead in a match.
