ga Swiatek seemingly didn’t appreciate one of Taylor Fritz’s shots as the Pole appeared to give the American a cold handshake at the net following their Eisenhower Cup final meeting. In the Eisenhower Cup final – a Tie Break Tens mixed doubles event held in Indian Wells on Tuesday – Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz took on Aryna Sabalenka and Fritz.
Leading 8-7, Fritz ripped a forehand return directly into Swiatek’s body. The Pole was able to defend herself by putting her racket against the return. The commentators seemed to be a bit stunned by Fritz’s shot selection and there were a few boos from the crowd.
A video of Fritz ripping a forehand into Swiatek’s body
At around the 5:03 mark, you can see how it looked. After that point, Sabalenka and Fritz took a 9-7 lead and gave themselves two consecutive match points.
Swiatek and Hurkacz were able to save the first match point but they couldn’t save the second as Sabalenka and Fritz won the title. Meanwhile, the business now starts for Swiatek. Last year, Swiatek defeated Maria Sakkari in the final to win her first title in the desert.
Now, Swiatek is the defending champion and the top-seeded player in Indian Wells. On Sunday, Swiatek shared a quick message from Indian Wells. “Peaceful mornings, a lot of work done every single day, beautiful landscape. So, so good to be back in tennis paradise!
Hi, BNP Paribas Open,” Swiatek tweeted. Last year, Swiatek absolutely dominated in the desert to win her first Indian Wells title. This year, Swiatek is the top favorite to make it all the way. So far this year, Swiatek has won one title.
In February, Swiatek made it all the way in Doha before finishing as runner-up in Dubai the following week. Even though Swiatek suffered a surprise defeat in the Dubai final against Barbora Krejcikova, it doesn’t change the fact that mostly she did great during the Middle East Swing. Because of that, she is definitely the top favorite for the Indian Wells title.
