By Tony Fairbairn
- Aryna Sabalenka [2] v Barbora Krejcikova [16]
- Daniil Medvedev [5] v Alexander Zverev [12]
- Maria Sakkari [7] v Karolina Pliskova [17]
INDIAN WELLS, USA – Aryna Sabalenka will look for revenge on Barbora Krejcikova after their recent meeting in Dubai as a place in the quarter-finals of Indian Wells is on the line.
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Aryna Sabalenka [2] v Barbora Krejcikova [16] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Aryna Sabalenka [2] v Barbora Krejcikova [16] | H2H: Sabalenka leads 2-1 |
| Indian Wells 2023 | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $96,955 |
| Second on Stadium 2, not before 12:30pm (7:30pm GMT) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
No third round action for Aryna Sabalenka after Lesia Tsurenko’s withdrawal but the second seed won’t mind that too much as she looks to back up her Australian Open title run. There seems to be a change of fortune for Sabalenka as more stability under pressure and more consistency is seeing her enjoy the best run of form in her career. Now Sabalenka will look to back that up at Indian Wells as she looks to prove that her run in Melbourne was not a one time thing and she can win more of these big tournaments throughout the season.
Next for Sabalenka is the only player to have beaten her this season in the form of Barbora Krejcikova. Injuries have derailed Krejcikova’s progress but the Czech Republican is now proving why she is one of the most dangerous players on the tour on her day. Krejcikova’s win over Sabalenka in Dubai was just one step on her way to winning the title where she defeated Iga Swiatek in the final. Now the 16th seed will hope that she can become a consistent contender to Swiatek’s dominance on the tour.
Sabalenka will look to play on the front foot and be aggressive from the baseline while Krejcikova will look to use her variety to neutralise the second seed’s aggressive tennis and counter-attack from the baseline. This will be a tight match with both players looking to prove that they are the nearest challenger to Swiatek. In the end, the slower conditions should favour Krejcikova more and her variety will be enough for Sabalenka’s game to break down.
Prediction: Krejcikova in three sets.
Daniil Medvedev [5] v Alexander Zverev [12] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Daniil Medvedev [5] v Alexander Zverev [12] | H2H: Tied at 6-6 |
| Indian Wells 2023 | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $96,955 |
| First on Stadium 1 at 11am (6pm GMT) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Despite complaining about the courts being too slow, Daniil Medvedev’s recent form continues to gather pace after his latest win over Ilya Ivashka. Medvedev has now won 16 matches in a row and is becoming the player to beat on the ATP tour as he looks to win another Masters 1000 title this week. The question is can anyone stop Medvedev in his quest for more success and trophies.
One player who will try to do that is Alexander Zverev who used to be considered a rival to Medvedev. However the German’s injuries have affected his progress and Zverev’s latest nail-biting win over Emil Ruusuvuori is proof that he still has a long way to go if he wants to challenge for the biggest trophies. However Zverev will just be glad to be playing matches again and now looks to rediscover his form and confidence in California.
This will be a long match that will see two players who like to rally from the baseline. Zverev will look to use his backhand to be aggressive from the back of the court and force Medvedev behind the baseline. While Medvedev will look to create lots of angles and use his confident serving to set the tempo of the match. While Zverev will do his best to force the errors from Medvedev, the fifth seed should have too much quality for the German in this contest.
Prediction: Medvedev in three sets.
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Maria Sakkari [7] v Karolina Pliskova [17] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Maria Sakkari [7] v Karolina Pliskova [17] | H2H: Pliskova leads 3-2 |
| Indian Wells 2023 | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $96,955 |
| First on Stadium 3 at 11am (6pm GMT) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Maria Sakkari is looking to rebuild her confidence after a difficult season last year which saw her suffer some bad moments mentally. However the Greek is achieving some stability this season, gaining consistent wins over players that are around her in the rankings. Now Sakkari will look to make a big run at a big tournament and finally win a WTA 1000 event after missing out in Guadalajara last year.
Next for Sakkari is the player she lost to in Dubai a couple of weeks ago in the form of Karolina Pliskova. Pliskova has gone through her own struggles over the last year but is finally finding her form with lots of positives to take from her run to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open. However Pliskova has still struggled when it matters most at big events and is looking to put that right at Indian Wells.
Pliskova will look to produce consistent serving numbers and dictate play from the baseline using depth of shot. Meanwhile Sakkari will look to use her forehand to move Pliskova out of position and set up effective winners on the court. The conditions suit Sakkari’s game more which gives her the edge but both players are desperate for the win here to try and kickstart their seasons.
Prediction: Sakkari in three sets.
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