When Iga Swiatek and Karolina Muchova met in the same round here last year, Swiatek won 6-1, 6-1 in 57 minutes.

On a perfect Wednesday inside Stadium 1, it was more of the same.

The 2022 and 2024 champion dominated from start to finish and improved her lifetime record at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to 25-3 with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over the World No. 13.

What explains Swiatek's near-perfect performance on Wednesday?

“I just love playing here, I love the conditions,” the two-time champion said. “I started to understand them a bit better a couple of years back. It feels like I can really use my advantages here, so I'm just trying to do that every year.”

Forehand on fire

In sunny and warm conditions, the biggest and most effective shot on the court was the booming Swiatek forehand.

“She is absolutely pummeling her forehand today,” said two-time champion Lindsay Davenport, who was commentating the match for Tennis Channel, after Swiatek completed the first break of the match to lead 4-2.

“Two thirds of the shots she is hitting from the back of the court are forehands. Not only is she hitting it well, she’s working hard to get a lot of forehands.”

The 24-year-old would then proceed to win the final 10 games of the match to close out her victory in 77 minutes.

Roger Federer's WTA doppelganger?

Earlier this week, the Pole dubbed Muchova the “woman Federer.” In a rivalry that spans back to 2019, Swiatek has now won five in a row, including the final at the French Open in 2023.

“She's my favorite WTA player to watch, so it's really nice to also play against her,” Swiatek said. “She might be like the only player I watch. So maybe that's why I also feel how she plays — we have already played many matches against each other, so we know each other.

“She’s a great player and a great person, hopefully we’ll play many more.”

The six-time major champion appeared intent on not allowing the Czech to express her elegant tennis.

“It just looks like she’s got Muchova on a string,” Davenport said, as Swiatek rifled a forehand drive volley into the open court while serving at 6-2, 2-0. “Corner to corner.”

Swiatek earns her first Top 20 win of the year and will face either Elina Svitolina or Katerina Siniakova in the quarterfinals.