The WTA Indian Wells draw is down to its final 16 players with most of the top seeds out of the tournament. The pressure is on as anyone could take the title. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match. We have the rest of the day’s matches in a separate article. Who do you think will go to the quarterfinals?
WTA Indian Wells Day 7 Predictions
Veronika Kudermetova vs Marketa Vondrousova
Head-to-head: first meeting
Kudermetova opened her tournament with a win over Naomi Osaka, during which her opponent was brought to tears by a heckler, followed by a retirement from her second-round opponent Marie Bouzkova, so the Russian really needs a strong win to confirm she is not in the final 16 just due to some lucky breaks. Vondrousova will be a tough opponent to beat as the 22-year-old is very strong in Indian Wells, reaching the Round of 16 for the third time in her fourth appearance. The young Czech pulled off a big upset over fourth seed Anett Kontaveit last time out, winning in a third-set tiebreak. Vondrousova is the favorite for me, as Indian Wells is definitely one of her happy places on tour.
Prediction: Vondrousova in 2
Maria Sakkari vs Daria Saville
Head-to-head: Saville 1-0 Sakkari
Sakkari equals her best result in Indian Wells from 2018 as she beat Czechs in back-to-back matches–Katerina Siniakova and Petra Kvitova, whom she allowed only three games. For Saville, this week has been huge in her comeback efforts. Playing only five tournaments in the entirety of 2020 and 2021, the Australian is now back inside the Top 250 in the live rankings with this result. The wins have also been quite impressive, taking Ons Jabeur and Elise Mertens in her last two matches. Saville leads the head-to-head, but their only meeting was back in 2016 when Sakkari was outside the Top 100. Saville’s run has been a great reminder that she is still capable of some very high-quality play that she hasn’t shown since 2018 but I expect the Greek to advance.
Prediction: Sakkari in 3
Elena Rybakina vs Viktorija Golubic
Head-to-head: Rybakina 1-0 Golubic
The 17th seed was struggling before this tournament, not winning two matches in a row since her finals run in Adelaide to start the season. The Kazakh broke her negative streak here, taking out Alison Van Uytvanck and Victoria Azarenka in straight sets. Golubic is in a similar situation. She started the tournament with a 5-6 record on the season, which she has now improved to 7-6, though her wins have been tough three-setters over Yulia Putintseva and Jasmine Paolini. Rybakina won their previous meeting in Nanchang 2019. With her current form, I expect her to be victorious once again.
Prediction: Rybakina in 2
Paula Badosa vs Leylah Fernandez
Head-to-head: Badosa 1-0 Fernandez
Defending champion Badosa has had a mixed bag of a year, winning the title in Sydney and putting together a Round of 16 run at the Australian Open while suffering first-round losses to Elena-Gabriela Ruse in Dubai and Victoria Azarenka in Adelaide. Nonetheless, the 24-year-old has a strong record of 11-4 on the year, and her pedigree in Indian Wells cannot be doubted as her road to the title last year included the likes of Barbora Krejcikova, Ons Jabeur, and a very strong Azarenka in the final. She has started well this year, getting straight-set wins over Tereza Martincova and Sara Sorribes Tormo.
Fernandez will certainly be tricky as she is on a seven-match win streak, including her two wins here and a title in Monterrey the week before. The 19-year-old almost fell in her opening match here though, saving four match points against Amanda Anisimova, who retired after the second set. The young Canadian followed it up with a three-set win over Shelby Rogers. Badosa leads the head-to-head with a win from Auckland 2020 when the two met in qualifying. The matchup is certainly exciting, and I see Badosa coming out on top as she has put together a more controlled run so far. Fernandez winning would be no surprise, though.
Prediction: Badosa in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
