Top seed Iga Swiatek easily defeated Yulia Putintseva 6-1, 6-2 on Tuesday, securing her spot in the Indian Wells quarterfinals, where she will face former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.
Although Swiatek faced a slow start and had to fend off four break points in the third game, she quickly found her rhythm.
The Pole dominated the match, commanding a 5-1 lead in the first set, prompting Putintseva's frustration as she threw her racket to the floor. Swiatek wrapped up the opener in under 30 minutes.
In the second set, Swiatek continued her strong performance, quickly gaining momentum. Despite Putintseva's attempts to be more aggressive, the 22-year-old world No. 1 proved to be too formidable for her Kazakh opponent.
"I knew I had to keep my focus (in the second set)," said Swiatek, who dropped serve twice in the second frame. "But I just really wanted to play my game and focus on what I want to do. I'm glad I did that."
Wozniacki, who returned to the tour last year after stepping away from the sport in 2020 to start a family, eased past fellow mother Angelique Kerber 6-4, 6-2 earlier in the day.
"She's a really experienced player," Swiatek said of the 2011 champion. I think she's playing great after her maternity break; she was fighting to come back. I have huge respect for her. It's going to be a nice match."
Wozniacki said she relished continuing her run at Indian Wells after making the quarters for the first time in four years.
"I'm just enjoying myself and I'm just thrilled I get another match in front of all of you guys," she said.
Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 6-1. She next faces another Russian, Anastasia Potapova, who beat Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 0-6, 6-3.
Kostyuk dropped only four points on serve in the match and broke Pavlyuchenkova five times to reach her first quarter-final at a WTA 1000 event.
Kostyuk had edged Pavlyuchenkova in a three-setter in San Diego earlier this month but had an easier time in their fourth-round battle.
"It definitely helped that I played her (recently)," the 21-year-old Kostyuk, who reached the Australian Open quarters in January for her best result at a Grand Slam, told the Tennis Channel. "The conditions were much better for my game here; the ball bounces much higher and it's a bit warmer. I didn't feel like I was in so much trouble as in San Diego."
Potapova booked her first trip to the quarter-finals of a Masters event with her win over Dubai champion Paolini, snapping the Italian's eight-match winning streak.
