"New one unlocked" - Iga Swiatek hilariously reacts to barista misspelling her name on coffee order ahead of Indian Wells final
Iga Swiatek is set to face Maria Sakkari in the women's singles final of the Indian Wells 2024 tournament on Sunday, March 17.
Swiatek defeated Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals on Friday after having gone past the likes of Danielle Collins, Linda Noskova, Yulia Putintseva, and Caroline Wozniacki (walkover) without losing a set.
On the other hand, Sakkari showed great character against Coco Gauff in her semifinal matchup to earn a 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2 win to qualify for the summit clash. In the previous rounds, she beat Diana Shnaider, Caroline Garcia, Diane Parry, and Emma Navarro.
It will notably be Swiatek and Sakkari's second meeting in the final of the Indian Wells as the two met at the same stage in 2022, with the Pole prevailing 6-4, 6-1. The two have not engaged in an on-court battle since then.
Ahead of the all-important clash, Swiatek shared a hilarious update about a barista messing up her name on a cappuccino order at Indian Wells. She posted on Instagram an image of the coffee cup with her first name misspelled as 'Ika'.
It was apparently a new experience for the Pole as people usually struggle with her last name instead.
"New one unlocked," she captioned the image.
Maria Sakkari leads Iga Swiatek 3-2 in terms of head-to-head but feels "having that lead doesn't really mean anything"
Maria Sakkari holds the upper hand over Iga Swiatek on paper, heading into the Indian Wells 2024 women's singles final, with a slim lead of 3-2 in the head-to-head account.
Sakkari, however, feels that the advantage won't matter much once she steps onto the court with Swiatek on Sunday as it has been two long years since they last clashed and so many equations have changed.
"It's actually pretty crazy that last time we played was two years ago. I would say we are very different two years ago both of us," Sakkari said during a press conference after beating Coco Gauff at Tennis Paradise.
Iga Swiatek has amassed 13 singles trophies and recorded 94 weeks and counting as the World No. 1 player on the women's singles circuit. On this, Sakkari continued:
"That's when her [Iga Swiatek's] streak [as the World No. 1] started or a few weeks before that. You know, having that lead doesn't really mean anything, because she's the best player right now in the world."
Swiatek notably held the pole position in the WTA rankings for 75 weeks straight from April 4, 2022, to September 10, 2023.