Defending champion Iga Swiatek got her BNP Paribas Open title defence off to a fine start at Indian Wells, cruising past Caroline Garcia in straight sets. 

Swiatek, who is the number two seed at the tournament, eased to a 6-2 6-0 victory in just one hour and one minute on Friday. 

In a second-round clash between players who have both been ranked inside the top four of the WTA rankings, it was the Pole who emerged victorious. 

Following back-to-back breaks of serve in the opener, Swiatek controlled the first set, cruising to an early advantage in just 35 minutes. 

She then followed that up with a sensational second set, closing out the contest with a fierce serve that Garcia sent long. 

Indeed, since the format's inception in 2009, only Victoria Azarenka (41) and Petra Kvitova (37) have more WTA-1000 match wins over former WTA-1000 event winners than Swiatek (35). 

She has also won 11.3% (30/266) of her sets in completed WTA-1000 matches with a score of 6-0 – the highest rate of any player with 20 or more sets since the format's introduction in 2009.

The two-time Indian Wells champion has now won 17 of her last 18 matches at the tournament, with her only defeat since 2022 coming in the 2023 semi-finals to Elena Rybakina.

"I [was] solid no matter what the score is, and I don't take [the] next games for granted," Swiatek said afterwards.

"If I'm leading even 4-0, I know that I should keep playing the same way and keep the same attitude to just win the match."

Swiatek will hope to bring momentum from her opener into her third round match against Ukraine's Dayana Yastremska.

11.3 - Iga Swiatek has won 11.3% (30/266) of her sets in completed WTA-1000 matches by a score of 6-0 – the highest rate of any player with 20+ sets since the format’s introduction in 2009. Bagels.#TennisParadise | @BNPPARIBASOPEN @WTA @WTA_insider pic.twitter.com/5fOgLLoFK9

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) March 8, 2025

Jessica Pegula also enjoyed a winning start on home turf, with the ATX Open champion rolling to a straight-sets victory over Magda Linette. 

The number four seed won 6-4 6-2, winning 68% (25/37) of her first-serve points as she prepares to face Xinyu Wang in the next round. 

"I was able to handle the side with the wind pretty well, and really take advantage of using that for my serve," Pegula said.

"And then just being a little gritty, digging out some tough points on the side that was against the wind. It was just a few points here and there, especially in the first."

Since 2009, Pegula (68.6%, 129-59) trails only two American players for combined win rate at WTA-1000 and grand slam events - Serena Williams (86.2%) and Coco Gauff (70.3%).

Mirra Andreeva, meanwhile, defeated Varvara Gracheva 7-5, 6-4. Trailing 4-0 in the second set, Andreeva won the last six games of the match to set up a third-round match against Clara Tauson, who she beat in last month's Dubai Open final. 

Since the format's introduction in 2009, Andreeva is the second-youngest player to win six straight opening matches at WTA-1000 events, after Amanda Anisimova.