When this tournament was last staged in March of 2019, Bianca Andreescu made her breakthrough. Ranked 60th in the world, she stormed through the draw, making this WTA 1000 event the first title of her career. Six months later, she would become the US Open champion. But after missing all of 2020 due to injuries and pandemic travel restrictions, it’s been a rough 2021 for the Canadian, who is only 7-8 since reaching the final of Miami this past March. Can she rediscover the magic that catapulted her 2019 season in the same place she first created it?
Also on Saturday, newly-crowned US Open champion Daniil Medvedev will play his first tour matchup since leaving New York, against surging American Mackie McDonald. And two other up-and-coming American men will collide in what could be an excellent encounter.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Saturday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Sebastian Korda (32) vs. Frances Tiafoe – Second on Stadium 1
Their only previous meeting came at the 2018 version of the now-defunct New York Open on Long Island, when Tiafoe prevailed in three sets over Korda, who was then ranked 873rd in the world. Three-and-a-half years later, Sebi is now ranked inside the top 40, and finds himself seeded at this event. He is on pace to soon become the top-ranked American man, and he only turned 21-years-old this summer. Korda reached the quarterfinals in Miami, won the title in Parma, and advanced to Manic Monday at The Championships. However, he is only 3-4 on hard courts these last few months. Tiafoe was been the better performer this summer, reaching the round of 16 in New York after a thrilling five-set upset of Andrey Rublev. And at the prior Major, Frances upended Roland Garros finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas. If this were a night match, I would decisively give Tiafoe the advantage, as he has pulled off some late night heroics in both Miami and New York this year. With this match in the middle of the afternoon, I more tentatively lean his way based on both players’ form on summer hard courts.
Bianca Andreescu (16) vs. Alison Riske – Not Before 8:00pm on Stadium 1
It was less than two years ago when Riske reached a career-high ranking of No.18. She is one of many players whose upward trajectory was disrupted by the pandemic. Since the tour restart last summer, she’s only 11-17. However, the 31-year-old American is coming off a run to the final last month in Portoroz, though it’s worth noting she did not defeat any top 50 players that week. Riske herself is now ranked right outside the top 50. Despite Andreescu’s aforementioned struggles, she hasn’t lost to a player ranked that low since Wimbledon, when Alize Cornet took her out in the opening round. The deciding factor on this day may be whether Bianca feels relief or pressure returning to the courts where she first made a name for herself. I’m counting on the former, and expect Andreescu to grit her way to victory even if her best tennis is still lacking. North American hard courts remain her specialty.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Dan Evans (18) vs. Kei Nishikori – Nishikori leads their head-to-head 3-1, which most recently includes a five-set win at last fall’s French Open.
Karolina Pliskova (1) vs. Magdalena Frech (Q) – In the absence of Ash Barty and Aryna Sabalenka, Pliskova is the top seed, and will play her first match since losing to Maria Sakkari in the US Open quarterfinals. Frech is a 23-year-old from Poland who won two ITF events this summer.
Coco Gauff (15) vs. Caroline Garcia – Gauff is 33-15 on the year, and currently sits 13th in the WTA Race rankings. A strong run this fortnight could qualify her for the WTA Finals in Guadalajara next month. Garica is only 25-24 this season, and arrived at Indian Wells on a three-match losing streak.
Daniil Medvedev (1) vs. Mackenzie McDonald – Medvedev is 5-0 against McDonald, and 11-0 in sets.
Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Demi Schuurs (5) vs. Leylah Fernandez and Coco Gauff – The teenagers are teaming for the first time, while Melichar-Martinez and Schuurs are regular partners, and won Charleston earlier this year.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.
