Iga Swiatek eases past Emma Raducanu to continue Indian Wells title defence

World No 1 Iga Swiatek continued her Indian Wells title defense with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Emma Raducanu on Tuesday to set up a quarter-final against unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea.

Swiatek came under pressure early in the opening set but some clean ballstriking helped her hold for a 3-2 lead after two tight service games. She raised her level further to break Raducanu in the next game before pulling away.

Having wrapped up the first set when Raducanu sent a shot long from the baseline, Swiatek grabbed an early break in the second to heap the pressure on the Briton, whose unforced errors began to mount.

Swiatek, bidding to become only the second female player to successfully defend the Indian Wells title after Martina Navratilova in 1990-91, raced to a 5-1 lead playing flawless tennis and running her opponent ragged.

The US Open champion, who arrived in California following a title in Doha and a run to the Dubai final, closed out the win when Raducanu struck the net on serve in a tame end to her fine run at the tournament.

"I just feel like in these longer rallies I was the one who showed I can bring the pressure on defense and it's not easy to finish the rally," Swiatek said. "She was actually doing the same. She was running to every ball and she played those slices which are tricky, but honestly I'm pretty happy with how positive I was and disciplined."

Earlier in the day, Coco Gauff rallied from a break down in the final set to beat Swede Rebecca Peterson 6-3, 1-6, 6-4 and reach the quarters for the first time.

After taking the first set, the sixth-seeded American began to struggle with her forehand in the second and an opportunistic Peterson applied the pressure by coming into the net.

But after suffering an early