Defending champion Iga Swiatek off to fast start at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS: World number one Iga Swiatek launched her bid for a rare Indian Wells repeat with a convincing 6-0, 6-1 victory over 56th-ranked American Claire Liu on Saturday. Neither Liu nor the breezy conditions on Stadium Court troubled Swiatek, who is seeking to become just the second woman — after Martina Navratilova in 1990-91 — to sucessfully defend her title at the prestigious combined WTA and ATP Masters 1000 hard court tournament. Swiatek roared through the first set, winning 25 of 32 points.

She didn’t have things quite so much her own way in the second, although she never faced a break point. Liu did manage to save a match point as she finally held serve in the penultimate game. The crowd roard when Liu — facing a top-ranked player for the first time — slipped a forehand passing shot under Swiatek’s guard on game point.

It brought a relieved smile to the American’s face, but Swiatek closed it out in the next game after 65 minutes. “For sure Claire used that moment when I didn’t play as aggressive that I should be, but I’m pretty happy that I was able to close it out pretty fast,” said Swiatek, the reigning French Open and US Open champion who was surprised in the round of 16 at the Australian Open in January. Since then, the 21-year-old from Warsaw has successfully defended her title in Doha and reached the final in Dubai.

Men’s top seed Carlos Alcaraz was scheduled to open his campaign on Saturday night, taking on Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinaki. The 19-year-old Spaniard, whose US Open triumph last year saw him become the youngest-ever world number one, missed the Australian Open as a string of injuries sidelined him for four months. He returned to win the title in Buenos Aires before falling in the