Damien Kayat previews the round of 16 matches between Iga Swiatek and Angelique Kerber as well as Veronika Kudermetova and Marketa Vondrousova from the WTA Tour's Indian Wells Masters.
2022 WTA Tour
WTA 1000
Indian Wells Masters, BNP Paribas Open
Indian Wells Tennis Centre(Outdoor Hardcourt)
Selected Round of 16 Matches- 15th-16th March
15th March
Iga Swiatek 2/11 | Angelique Kerber 37/10
This is set up to be a blockbuster round of 16 clash.
Third seed Iga Swiatek has firmly established herself as one of the preeminent figures in women’s tennis. The 2019 French Open champion is not just a clay-court specialist: she reached the 2nd week of all four majors last year.
This helped propel her to her maiden WTA Finals appearance. And she has only looked stronger in 2022, coming into this match with a brilliant 16-3 year-to-date record.
She reached her 2nd Grand Slam semi-final in Australia before winning her 2nd WTA 1000 title in Qatar. She was truly sensational on the Qatari hardcourts, dropping just one set en route to the final.
There, she absolutely pulverized Anett Kontaveit, dropping just two games. She is currently on a 7-match winning streak and goes into this as the favourite. But she had to slog through both matches thus far, coming back from a set down against both Anhelina Kalinina and Clara Tauson.
But that isn’t totally surprising for the gritty Pole (she doesn’t mind grinding her way through three-set epics). But these rapid Indian Wells courts should suit her aggressive style down to the bone.
While she is the heavy favourite, Swiatek still has to overcome stiff round of 16 opposition in Angelique Kerber. Kerber has court credentials, reaching the final here as recently as 2019.
She also lost in the quarterfinals last year (going down to eventual champ Paula Badosa). The 34-year-old actually enjoyed a real resurgence in the latter part of 2021, staring with a victory at Bad Homburg Open.
She followed that up with a sensational semi-final run at Wimbledon before showcasing her hardcourt prowess with a semi-final run in Cincinnati. But that form seems to have completely abandoned her this year.
She came into this event winless for the season, losing in the first round in Melbourne and Qatar. But the former World Number One seems to have found something on these familiar courts.
Granted, she absolutely inched past Qinwen Zheng. But few would have expected her to blow Daria Kasatkina off the court like she did. She will look to build on that mammoth win and pull off a real upset.
Verdict: Swiatek to win in straight sets at 52/100
I was fairly amazed to discover that these two are still yet to meet each other. This is going to be a classic duel between aggression and counterpunching, with Swiatek likely to dictate much of the play.
I have always been a fan of the German and would love to be more optimistic about her chances. But I just can’t see her competing with Swiatek from the back of the court.
16th March
Veronika Kudermetova 13/10 | Marketa Vondrousova 59/100
24-year-old Russian Veronika Kudermetova picked up a stunning opening-round victory against former World Number One Naomi Osaka.
She perhaps never got the plaudits she deserved, with most of the media attention being sucked up by the heckling that reduced Osaka to tears. But this was certainly not a fluke for a player who has risen steadily over the past 15 months.
She has reached four WTA Finals since January last year, three of which came on hard surfaces. She has broken into the world’s top 25 this year with some really solid showings.
The 24-year-old reached the final in Melbourne where she lost to a resurgent Simona Halep. And she also reached the final in Dubai, beating Grand Slam champions Garbine Muguruza and Victoria Azarenka in the process.
Her game looks perfectly suited for these fast hardcourts. She has a powerful serve that allows her to dominate her opponents. She is also a highly proficient doubles player, which has helped her establish excellent touch at the net.
It’s quite crazy to think that 22-year-old Marketa Vondrousova last won a title in 2017. The 2019 French Open finalist hasn’t quite been able to fulfil her potential over the course of the last few years.
But a surprise silver medal at last year’s Olympic games seems to have given the Czech lefty some real confidence. She reached three further semi-finals in the latter part of 2021.
She also reached the semi-finals in Dubai earlier this year, beating Danielle Collins in the process. And while she may not have left Osaka in tears this year, she did pull off a pretty decent upset of her won against fourth seed Anett Kontaveit.
This should be a fascinating clash between Kudermetova’s power and Vondrousova’s craft.
Verdict: Kudermetova to win in straight sets at 26/10
This will be the first meeting between these two. They were supposed to meet in the semi-finals in Dubai earlier this year but Vondrousova was forced to withdraw from that match.
I think this decision really boils down to the surface. These Indian Wells surfaces are quick and should suit Kudermetova’s power-based game. Vondrousova is a brilliant returner and will always provide a stern challenge. I think that Kudermetova should also benefit from having spent significantly less time on court.
