| (BSS/AFP) - Defending champion Iga Swiatek edged closer to an unprecedented third straight Indian Wells WTA title Sunday, overwhelming Dayana Yastremska 6-0, 6-2 to reach the fourth round.
Swiatek`s 65-minute victory set the tone on a day that saw Daniil Medvedev spend just 10 minutes on court before ailing opponent Alex Michelsen retired.
Swiatek, the world number two from Poland, was in full control against hard-hitting Ukrainian Yastremska, swinging freely as she won the first 10 games.
She converted six of her 11 break chances and didn`t face a break point herself and it was virtually over by the time Yastremska got on the board with wins in her last two service games.
Swiatek next faces Czech Karolina Muchova, who beat compatriot Katerina Siniakova 7-5, 6-1.
Trailing 3-5 in the first set, Muchova won 10 of the remaining 11 games to grab the win.
"It`s always hard to finish a match like that," Swiatek said. "But I`m happy that I got my intensity up the last game and closed it with confidence because for sure it was a great match."
Women`s fourth seed Jessica Pegula of the United States, fresh off her first WTA title of the year in Austin, was another quick winner, putting away China`s Wang Xinyu 6-2, 6-1 in just 62 minutes.
Pegula next faces Ukraine`s Elina Svitolina, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Danielle Collins.
Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, coming off a title in Dubai, headlined the night session. She faced Denmark`s Clara Tauson -- the woman Andreeva beat in the Dubai final to become the youngest ever WTA 1000 champion.
The winner of that match will face 2023 Indian Wells champion Elena Rybakina, who beat Britain`s Katie Boulter 6-0, 7-5.
Medvedev headlined the men`s lineup in the combined ATP Masters and WTA 1000 event, but he was barely underway when 20-year-old Michelson retired because of illness after dropping the first two games.
"Food poisoning or something like this, these things happen," said Medvedev, who was headed to the practice courts to tune up for a fourth-round clash with 10th-seeded American Tommy Paul.
Paul beat Britain`s 2021 Indian Wells winner Cameron Norrie, now ranked 77th in the world, 6-3, 7-5.
- Gladiator -
Eighth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, coming off his first title in almost a year in Dubai, beat Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-3 in a rematch of their Dubai quarter-final last week.
Tsitsipas dropped just eight points on his serve as he wrong-footed Italian with a variety of athletic shots, breaking him three times on the way to victory in 68 minutes.
After months in the doldrums Tsitsipas said he was relishing a new mental approach to the game.
"I`m approaching these matches with determination and willingness to just leave it all out there on the court," Tsitsipas said. "I just feel like I want to get out there on the court and be a gladiator, and that`s how I approach every single match I get to play."
Tsitsipas next faces 12th-seeded Dane Holger Rune, who had to dig deep for a 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 victory over France`s Ugo Humbert.
Tallon Griekspoor, the world No. 43 from the Netherlands who shocked world number two and top seed Alexander Zverev in the second round, backed up his big win with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 victory over France`s 29th seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Griekspoor fired 10 aces, dominating the first set tiebreaker after an early exchange of breaks.
He didn`t face a break point in the second set, breaking his 21-year-old opponent on the way to a 5-2 lead and securing the win on his second match point.
Griekspoor needed an hour and 16 minutes to secure the win, but in a season in which dropping the first set has become an alarming habit that was fast enough.
"It feels nice to win a match in under one and a half hour," he said.
| 
