Underarm serve by Putintseva not suprising Iga
Iga Swiatek mentioned that she wasn't bothered by Yulia Putintseva's underarm service during their encounter at Indian Wells. The world No. 1 secured another impressive victory, conceding only three games, and advanced to the quarterfinals at the Tennis Paradise.
The 4-times Grand Slam champion was vastly superior to her opponent for a significant portion of the match, despite facing some challenges with her serve in the second set. Swiatek broke Putintseva's serve on 6 out of 7 possible occasions, frustrating the Kazakh player who displayed clear signs of frustration multiple times.
The world No. 79 found herself at 0-40 in the third game of the second set and attempted to surprise Swiatek with an underarm service, which landed slightly outside but was nonetheless reached and returned by the Polish player. As she mentioned after the match, Swiatek was not bothered by Putintseva's unconventional service:
"Maybe they teach that in Kazakhstan. I don't know, because Bublik does the same. I don't really care. Honestly, if the serve would be in, that would be my best return probably of the match (smiling)."
"I was actually unhappy that it was out. But, I mean, I'm ready for anything that comes to me, so I don't really care what's going on on the other side of the net," Swiatek added.
The Polish player's victory continues to showcase her excellent form, as she has not conceded more than four games in each of her matches against Danielle Collins (6-3, 6-9), Linda Noskova (6-4, 6-0), and now Putintseva (6-1, 6-2).
In the quarterfinals, she will face the former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, whom she already encountered at the 2019 Toronto Open. In that match, a young Swiatek, 18 years old and coming from the qualifying rounds, overcame Wozniacki (No. 18 at the time) with a score of 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Underarm serve by Putintseva not suprising Iga