Not only will the men’s bottom half conclude on Day 9, but all women’s round of 16 matches will also take place. And on top of that, due to the rain upsetting last night’s schedule in the desert, Novak Djokovic will play his match against Philipp Kohlschreiber. That means we’ll have Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Wawrinka, Cilic, Osaka, Halep, Kerber, Muguruza, and Venus Williams all in action. A total of 71 Major singles titles will be represented in singles matches on Tuesday.
Roger Federer (4) vs. Stan Wawrinka
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This is the 25th meeting between these Swiss friends. Federer has won 21 of those matches, with his only three losses coming on clay. They last played in Cincinnati last year, a match in which Wawrinka thoroughly tested Federer, yet Roger prevailed in three. They also met in the final here in Indian Wells two years ago, which saw Federer win in straight sets. In his opening round on Sunday, Federer easily dispatched of Peter Gojowczyk in less than 90 minutes. Wawrinka meanwhile needed almost three-and-a-half hours to overcome Marton Fucsovics in a thrilling battle on Sunday night. It’s hard to see Stan having enough left to defeat an in-form Federer on a hard court this evening.
Angelique Kerber (8) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (9)
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This could be good. The 31-year-old Kerber and 20-year-old Sabalenka have never met before. How will Aryna’s power stand up against the defense of Kerber? Sabalenka was the breakout star of the WTA in 2018. And she started off 2019 strongly as well, lifting the trophy in Shenzhen during the first week of the year. She’s simmered a bit in the past two months though, starting with an upset loss to 18-year-old American Amanda Anisimova in Melbourne. Kiki Bertens then got the better of her in St. Petersburg, and Bencic took her out in a final set tiebreak in Dubai. However, none of those are bad losses considering the competition. On the other side of the net, Kerber has had an unremarkable season to date, with her biggest disappointment coming in Australia. It was there that Danielle Collins, a player not all that dissimilar from Sabalenka, allowed her just two games. Could this be a similar situation? The slower conditions in the desert may prevent that, though Kerber is only 15-10 lifetime at Indian Wells. While I’m not sure who will win, I’m confident their clash of styles and shared competitive nature will make this captivating.
Other notable matches on Day 9
- Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber, a match where only one game was completed last night
- Naomi Osaka (1) vs. Belinda Bencic (23), who was the champion in Dubai just a few weeks ago
- Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Diego Schwartzman (25), who is 0-6 against Nadal but tested him in two near-four hours matches last year
- Simona Halep (2) vs. 19-Year-Old Marketa Vondrousova, who already upset two seeds in this tournament
- Elina Svitolina (5) vs. Ash Barty (12)
- Kiki Bertens (7) vs. Garbine Muguruza (20)
- Marin Cilic (10) vs. Denis Shapovalov (24)
- Venus Williams vs. Mona Barthel.
