The tournament kicked into high gear last night, in an excellent battle which saw Serena Williams take out Victoria Azarenka. Saturday will see the beginning of the second round in men’s singles, and the conclusion of the second round in women’s singles. The men’s most intriguing matchup will see two of the ATP’s hottest rising stars collide. On the women’s side, two former Major champions, and two of the WTA’s most likable players, will square off. Also, keep an eye on the doubles matches over the course of this tournament. Many singles players also play doubles at Indian Wells, making for the year’s most unique and entertaining doubles draws.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (9) vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime
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This will be the first career meeting between the 20-year-old from Greece and the 18-year-old from Canada. Tsitsipas is the newest member of the top 10, and has carried over his momentum of 2018 into 2019. Of course he upset Roger Federer in Australia, in his first run to a Major semifinal. He then won the ATP 250 event in Marseille, and made the final last week in Dubai, where Federer avenged the loss from Melbourne. Concurrently, Auger-Aliassime comes into this second round encounter having won seven of his last nine matches. He advanced to his first career final just two weeks ago at the ATP 500 event in Rio de Janeiro, with some impressive victories over strong clay court players. Felix is now inside the top 60 for the first time in his young career. This could easily be a preview of a rivalry for many years to come. The advantage must be given to the more accomplished player in Tsitsipas, especially on a hard court, as well as in a tournament of this magnitude. However, Felix is obviously playing with a lot of confidence, and should be able to make this interesting.
Petra Kvitova (3) vs. Venus Williams
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This match has big rankings implications for Venus Williams. She is currently 36th in the world, just a few spots away from being seeded at this and other big tournaments. But she is defending semifinal points from last year here. A loss today would drop her outside the top 50. Venus survived a tough first round match with Andrea Petkovic on Thursday, but received medical attention during the match for undisclosed reasons. She appeared to have far from a full tank of energy. Hopefully she’ll be close to 100% on Saturday, as she’s facing the WTA’s best player in the first two months of 2019. Kvitova made her first Major final in nearly five years at the Australian Open. She also made the final in Dubai, and won the title in Sydney. Petra already has 17 match wins on the year. By comparison, Venus only won 17 matches in all of 2018. Kvitova holds a 4-2 edge in their career head-to-head, though Venus won the last time they met. That was in the 2017 US Open quarterfinals, a great match which went to a third set tiebreak. Also in Venus’ favor is Petra’s lackluster record at Indian Wells of 13-8. However, Kvitova is by far the more in-form player. She’ll also enjoy the cooler conditions the desert is currently experiencing, as she does not like playing in the heat. While Petra can be quite the streaky player, she should prevail here.
Other notable matches on Day 4
- Defending Champion Naomi Osaka (1) vs. Kristina Mladenovic, who defeated Osaka in Naomi’s only match since her Australian Open title.
- Novak Djokovic (1), in his first match since his own Australian Open title, vs. Bjorn Frantangelo, who took a set off Djokovic in their only previous meeting three years ago at this same tournament.
- In a big-serving affair, Canadian No.1 Milos Raonic (13) vs. California Native Sam Querrey.
- Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan (4) vs. two young Russians inside the top 15 of the singles rankings, Karen Khachanov and Daniil Medvedev.
