Photo credit: BNP Paribas Open Facebook
The BNP Paribas Open unveiled its new surface this week.
Stalking the hard court like a power predator, Iga Swiatek delivered another dose of desert dominance.
Defending champion Swiatek sped through nine straight games shredding Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-0 to roll into the third round.
It's the seventh straight Indian Wells win for Swiatek, who improved to 19-2 lifetime at the BNP Paribas Open.
"Well, for sure I'm happy that I was solid until the end, and I'm just happy that I adjusted to the conditions well," Swiatek told the media in Indian Wells. "First matches are not easy, and didn't know what to expect from Caro, but I'm happy that I could dominate from the beginning."
Launching her quest for a third Indian Wells crown with a statement win, Swiatek will face another heavy hitter—Dayana Yastremska—next.
Yastremska needed only 70 minutes to crush two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur 6-3, 6-1.
One of only four women to complete the Sunshine Double, Swiatek said she's ready for anything against the flat-hitting Yastremska.
"Honestly, I feel like players playing against me, they can play amazing or they can play a bit worse. So you never know what you're going to get from the other side," Swiatek said. "They can play kind of without expectations playing me.
"So I try not to overthink that. My mentality and my mindset is always kind of the same before the match, and I'll prepare tactically, for sure, and Wim will analyze her game here I guess, because that's the most important thing, what happened recently, and that's it."
Austin champion Jessica Pegula scored her sixth straight win with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Magda Linette.
The fourth-seeded Pegula will play Xinyu Wang next. Wang stopped 26th-seeded Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 6-4.
Fresh off her Eisenhower Cup mixed doubles title with Taylor Fritz, Elena Rybakina rolled past Suzan Lamens 6-3, 6-3.
The seventh-seeded Rybakina will face 25th-seeded Briton Katie Boulter next.