Elena Rybakina overwhelms world No 1 Iga Swiatek to set up Indian Wells final with Aryna Sabalenka

Elena Rybakina has knocked out defending champion Iga Swiatek with a 6-2, 6-2 semi-final victory at Indian Wells on Friday to set up a clash against Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

Two months after Rybakina knocked Swiatek out of the Australian Open in the fourth round, the Wimbledon champion once again put in an impressive display against the world No 1.

Rybakina was in control from the start, breaking early to take a 2-0 lead, before going on to clinch the first set when Swiatek produced a double fault on set point.

Swiatek tested Rybakina’s serve in the first game of the second set, but the Kazakh held under pressure and then won the next four games to take a 5-0 lead.

The Pole saved a break point to hold and avoid a bagel before breaking to further reduce the arrears, but Rybakina broke back immediately to extinguish the comeback and secure the win.

“I really played well today, it was a really nice atmosphere tonight,” Rybakina said in her on-court interview.

“I didn’t expect I would play that well today. I had nothing to lose, I just wanted to enjoy. I think it was one of my best matches this season.”

Rybakina will be out for revenge when she faces Sabalenka, who defeated her in the Australian Open final in January. The Belarusian leads 4-0 in their head-to-head.

“It was really close, we had so many battles and so far I’m losing, but hopefully that will change,” Rybakina added.

Iga Swiatek’s losses this year have all been straight sets:Pegula 6-2 6-2 Rybakina 6-4 6-4Krejcikova 6-4 6-2Rybakina 6-2 6-2Swiatek is already making a case as one of the most dominant frontrunners of the 21st century but a lot of work be done on digging deep when losing.

Earlier on Friday, Australian Open champion Sabalenka was not at her best