Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek are both into the quarterfinals of Indian Wells.
The pair have had very different routes on their way to the last eight but both have created history in doing so.
Reigning Australian Open champion Keys had to battle back from the brink of elimination as she pulled off a stunning comeback.
In a 2-hour and 18-minute thriller on Wednesday, Keys beat No. 19 seed Donna Vekic 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-3, which included a tense second-set tiebreak.
“I think Donna played really well at the beginning,” Keys said in her post-match press.
“I felt like I wasn’t executing quite how I wanted to. Was really happy that I was able to kind of flip the script a little bit in the second set and kind of play a pretty solid third set.”
The win also creates history for Keys as she became the fifth woman over 30 in the Open Era to post a 15-match winning streak at tour level.
She joins Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, and Serena Williams as the other four.
Keys equalled another Williams milestone with the win as she became the first player to win each of her first 10 three-set matches in a WTA season since the 23-time Grand Slam champion in 2015.
Awaiting Keys next is Belinda Bencic, the resurgent mum who comes off the back of beating No.3 seed Coco Gauff. The pair have spilt their four previous meetings and have not faced off since 2022.
For Keys, Indian Wells provides her the opportunity to become the first American women’s singles champion at Indian Wells in 24 years.
The last American woman to hoist the trophy was Williams in 2001.
Swiatek has been in cruise control so far at Indian Wells — no one has come close to the Pole in the dessert.
Her latest victory was another reminder of her sheer ruthlessness as she produced a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Karolina Muchova to reach the quarterfinals.
The game lasted just 57 minutes as she dropped just two games in the entire match, making it six in total across the entire tournament.
Those six dropped games in three matches equal the best effort in history at Indian Wells, which was Monica Seles in 2002.
Swiatek has also become the player with the highest percentage of quarterfinals reached in WTA-1000 events with 61 percent, surpassing Williams in the process.
The win created even more history as the Pole became the first woman to reach the Indian Wells quarterfinals for four consecutive years since Karolina Pliskova from 2016-19.
“I feel for sure like I’m returning well and I’m trying to put pressure on my opponents,” Swiatek said on her game plan.
“But I wouldn’t say I change anything or something. I’m kind of going the same kind of process I always had.”
However, the ultimate goal for Swiatek is clear: win another Indian Wells title and become the first woman in history to win the California tournament three times.
In her way first is No. 8 seed Zheng Qinwen. The pair last faced off at the Olympic semifinals where the Chinese star was victorious and went on to win the gold medal.
