Saturday’s second round singles action sees No.1 seeds Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz make their 2023 Indian Wells debuts.
Other matches feature two-time champion Victoria Azarenka taking on the always-dangerous Karolina Muchova, 2009 finalist Andy Murray facing 2017 semifinalist Pablo Carreno Busta, defending champion Taylor Fritz playing recent breakout Ben Shelton, and Sofia Kenin against a fellow Major champ for the second round in a row, in Elena Rybakina.
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.
Karolina Muchova vs. Victoria Azarenka (14) – 11:00am on Stadium 1
Azarenka has compiled a 10-5 record thus far in 2023, and most notably was a semifinalist at the Australian Open, where she beat two top 10 seeds (Keys, Pegula). Her titles in the desert came in 2012 and 2016, and she was also the runner-up in 2021.
2021 was the year when Muchova reached her career-high ranking of No.19, but injuries have sidetracked her career for the last two seasons. Karolina went just 11-12 in 2022, yet is off to a solid 8-3 start this year, and is coming off a quarterfinal run in Dubai. She defeated Yulia Putintseva in three sets on Thursday.
Azarenka took their only previous meeting, in the fourth round of the 2020 US Open. Muchova’s diverse style can frustrate opponents, as she provides a lot of different balls throughout a match. However, Vika’s hard court prowess and recent success in Melbourne make her the favorite.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis (Q) – Last on Stadium 1
After missing the Australian Open due to a leg injury, Alcaraz went 8-1 in February on clay, winning the title in Buenos Aires, and reaching the final in Rio de Janeiro. While the same leg injury began bothering during that Rio final, his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero insisted this week that his charge is 100% heading into this fortnight. Carlitos was a semifinalist here a year ago, where he lost an epic semi in extremely windy conditions to Rafael Nadal. If Alcaraz wins the title this year, he’ll reclaim the No.1 ranking from an absent Novak Djokovic.
Kokkinakis became one of many heartbroken opponents of Andy Murray this year, losing a second round match in Melbourne that lasted an astounding five hours and 45 minutes. Last month, Thanasi claimed a Challenger title on a hard court. He’s already won three straight-set matches this week, having come through qualifying.
In their first career meeting, Alcaraz should be strongly favored. While Kokkinakis is fully capable of defeating top players, Carlitos’ level across the past 12 months has been superb. And the highly-popular 20-year-old Spaniard will have much of the packed house on Saturday evening cheering him on.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Claire Liu – Swiatek is 12-3 this season, with one title (Doha). Liu is a 22-year-old American who was the girls’ champion at Wimbledon in 2017.
Andy Murray vs. Pablo Carreno Busta – Murray continues to thrive in marathon matches. Following his over-three-hour victory on Thursday over Tomas Martin Etcheverry, he is now 7-0 this season in deciding sets. Shockingly, this is his first career meeting with fellow veteran Carreno Busta, who is only 1-3 to start 2023.
Miomir Kecmanovic (26) vs. Stan Wawrinka (PR) – Kecmanovic broke into the top 30 last year thanks to 38 match wins, but is only 7-6 in 2023. Wawrinka recently broke back into the top 100 for the first time in two years, as he’s still fighting his way back from a foot injury that caused him to miss over a year of action.
Taylor Fritz (4) vs. Ben Shelton – A year ago here, Fritz claimed the biggest title of his career in his home state. 20-year-old Shelton was a surprise quarterfinalist at January’s Australian Open.
Elena Rybakina (10) vs. Sofia Kenin (WC) – Kenin defeated another Slam champ, Sloane Stephens, in the first round. Rybakina went 3-2 in February after reaching her second Major final in January. When they played three years ago in Dubai, Rybakina prevailed 6-3 in the third.
Jannik Sinner (11) vs. Richard Gasquet – Sinner is a strong 12-3 on the year, after becoming the champion in Montpellier and the runner-up in Rotterdam. Gasquet won a title at the beginning of the season in Auckland, but is just 3-4 since.
Peyton Stearns (WC) vs. Bianca Andreescu (32) – Stearns is a 21-year-old American who earned only her third WTA-level win on Thursday. Andreescu’s big breakthrough occurred four years ago at this event, but she’s only 5-5 to start the year.
Ons Jabeur (4) vs. Magdelana Frech – This will be Jabeur’s first match since the Australian Open, as she recently had a minor procedure done on her injured knee. Frech has now reached the second round of Indian Wells for the third consecutive year. She’s only once achieved that feat at all other WTA 1000 events.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.