By Tony Fairbairn
- Carlos Alcaraz [1] v Felix Auger-Aliassime [8]
- Iga Swiatek [1] v Sorana Cirstea
- Taylor Fritz [4] v Jannik Sinner [11]
- Elena Rybakina [10] v Karolina Muchova
INDIAN WELLS, USA – Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz look to set up a dream semi-final against tough opponents in the Indian Wells quarter-finals.
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Carlos Alcaraz [1] v Felix Auger-Aliassime [8] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Carlos Alcaraz [1] v Felix Auger-Aliassime [8] | H2H: Auger-Aliassime leads 3-0 |
| Indian Wells | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $184,465 |
| Fourth on Stadium One (Not before 01:00 GMT) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Carlos Alcaraz’s fine start to the season continues as the Spaniard continued to look impressive in the opening set against Jack Draper as the Brit retired. After missing the start of the year due to injury as well as losing his world number one, Alcaraz has responded in sensational fashion as he looks to build momentum ahead of his Miami Open title defence next week. At 19 years-old, Alcaraz’s athleticism, power and tactical awareness has made him one of the best talents of his generation and now the Spaniard looks to use his skillset to make back-to-back semi-finals in California.
Standing in Alcaraz’s way is Felix Auger-Aliassime who has beaten the Spaniard on multiple occasions. The Canadian has had a rough start to the year though and Auger-Aliassime had to save six match points on his way to defeating Tommy Paul. The 22 year-old has all the skills to be at the top of the game for a long time but a lack of consistency, especially in the pressure moments, is restricting the Canadian from reaching his full potential. Can Indian Wells be the tournament that Auger-Aliassime turns that around and achieves his big breakthrough.
Alcaraz will look to use his variety, power and depth to move Auger-Aliassime around the court and force errors from the Canadian. Meanwhile Auger-Aliassime will look to serve at a high level and use his forehand to dictate the majority of the points. Given the pace of the courts, Alcaraz has to be strong favourite here with the Canadian needing to raise his intensity and level from his last match to even have a chance of winning here.
Prediction: Alcaraz in straight sets.
Iga Swiatek [1] v Sorana Cirstea H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Iga Swiatek [1] v Sorana Cirstea | H2H: Swiatek leads 1-0 |
| Indian Wells | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $184,465 |
| Second on Stadium One (19:30 GMT) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Iga Swiatek continues to be the dominant force on the WTA tour having dropped a combined total of 14 games in her first three rounds. Swiatek’s latest win over Emma Raducanu proved that she is the most consistent player on the tour and is refusing to be complacent in her bid for history. Now the world number one looks to continue her high level of performances as she looks to become the first person to defend the Indian Wells title since Martina Navratilova in 1991.
Standing in Swiatek’s way in the last eight is Sorana Cirstea with the Romanian knocking out Caroline Garcia in the last round. Cirstea has struggled for form over the last year but is finally finding her groove in Indian Wells as she looks to boost her ranking. Cirstea has a big baseline game and isn’t afraid to take risks when she needs to as she looks to pull off another big upset in the quarter-finals.
Cirstea will need to have a really good serving day and be consistent in her tactical approach especially when being aggressive in the forehand. The world number one will look to use this match to improve her second serve as she prepares for bigger tests to come in the last two rounds. Unless Swiatek has a massive off day, there will only be one winner in this match as the Pole looks for her second consecutive title in California.
Prediction: Swiatek in straight sets.
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Taylor Fritz [4] v Jannik Sinner [11] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Taylor Fritz [4] v Jannik Sinner [11] | H2H: Fritz leads 1-0 |
| Indian Wells | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $184,465 |
| Third on Stadium One (Not before 22:00 GMT) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Taylor Fritz’s impressive last 12 months has continued this week at Indian Wells as he looks to defend his title in California. Making his top five debut has not intimidated the big-serving American as he aims to continue his impressive consistency on the tour and with the ultimate goal being to contend for Grand Slam titles. Now Fritz looks to continue his fine form as he looks to build momentum ahead of the clay court season.
Next for Fritz is the big-hitting Italian Jannik Sinner after the 11th seed reached his first Indian Wells quarter-final with victory over Stan Wawrinka. Sinner has had a good start to the season having tested Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev this year. That seems to have boosted Sinner’s confidence as he has already claimed 15 victories this season as he looks to win his maiden Masters 1000 title in California.
Fritz looks to maintain a high percentage of first serves as he looks to be aggressive and force Sinner out of position. Meanwhile the Italian looks to use his power to force Fritz into tactical errors as well as using a lot of depth to force Fritz behind the baseline. This will be an entertaining battle between two in-form players but in the end, the American should edge to victory.
Prediction: Fritz in three sets.
Elena Rybakina [10] v Karolina Muchova H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Elena Rybakina [10] v Karolina Muchova | H2H: Muchova leads 1-0 |
| Indian Wells | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $184,465 |
| First on Stadium One (18:00 GMT) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina has gone under the radar over the last six months but that’s the way she would want it as she continues to produce big results on the biggest of stages. Rybakina was very close to winning her second Grand Slam title in Melbourne earlier this year and once again this week has proven to be too strong for the rest of the field. Now Rybakina looks to take her blistering power and court awareness to the title at Indian Wells.
Next up for Rybakina is tricky CzechKarolina Muchova who has gained her form and confidence back in California. A few years ago it was Muchova who was reaching the latter stages of big tournaments but injuries have restricted her progress in the last couple of years. However that hasn’t stopped Muchova from being determined and ambitious as the world number 76 looks to continue her climb back up the rankings.
This should be a good match between a contrast of styles as Rybakina’s power goes up against Muchova’s variety and slice. The Kazakh will look to play on the front foot while Muchova will look to rely on her defensive skillset to play on the counter-attack. It will be an intriguing match and one that is too close to call but Rybakina’s confidence will just see her over the finish line.
Prediction: Rybakina in three sets.
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