The wonderful Round of 16 bonanza is on the menu at WTA Indian Wells with all eight matches to be played. As always, we here at LWOT will preview and predict every match. Who do you think will go through to the quarterfinals?
WTA Indian Wells Day 7 Predictions
Marketa Vondrousova vs Karolina Muchova
Head-to-head: Vondrousova 2-0 Muchova
Two resurgent Czechs playing in their first meeting in five years. Vondrousova, World No. 105 coming into Indian Wells, has continued onto her previous years’ form, reaching the fourth round for the fourth time in her fifth appearance, The 23-year-old dropped just six games in wins over Rebecca Marino and Marie Bouzkova before she dispatched Ons Jabeur once again. Muchova has impressed in her Indian Wells debut, taking out Yulia Putintseva, Victoria Azarenka, and Martina Trevisan. This should be an exciting match with some interesting variety and net play but I see Vondrousova coming out on top.
Prediction: Vondrousova in 3
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Elena Rybakina vs Varvara Gracheva
Head-to-head: Rybakina 1-0 Gracheva
One step away from defending her quarterfinal run here from last year, Rybakina has impressed in her first two wins in Indian Wells so far. The Kazakh overcame Sofia Kenin, who actually played at a very high level this time, in two tiebreaks before snapping a three-loss head-to-head streak against Paula Badosa in the third round. Gracheva is now 9-1 in her last ten matches, all played within the last two weeks. The Russian has not dropped a set since qualifying for the main draw, beating Ysaline Bonaventure and Petra Martic before recreating her Australian Open upset of Daria Kasatkina. Rybakina’s level might just be too high for Gracheva though.
Prediction:
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Caroline Garcia vs Sorana Cirstea
Head-to-head: Garcia 2-0 Cirstea
Third meeting between Garcia and Cirstea, all at WTA 1000s with Garcia earning three-set wins in both previous meetings in Toronto 2017 and Madrid 2019. The Frenchwoman is through to the fourth round of Indian Wells for the first time since 2018 after three straight second-round exits in the desert. Garcia came into the tournament in solid form after a run to the Monterrey final and got two tough three-set wins over Dalma Galfi and Leylah Fernandez to get here. Cirstea got somewhat fortunate initially, playing Kimberly Birrell to start and getting a retirement from Madison Keys in the second round. The Romanian impressed in her third-round match though, beating Bernarda Pera 6-3 6-1, defending her fourth-round run from last year. This is a quite even match that I am almost certain will go three sets, slightly leaning towards Garcia winning out.
Prediction: Garcia in 3
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Iga Swiatek vs Emma Raducanu
Head-to-head: Swiatek 1-0 Raducanu
Defending champion and World No. 1 Iga Swiatek clashes with resurgent slam champion Emma Raducanu. The two met in Stuttgart last season with Swiatek winning 6-4 6-4 though the Pole was much more dominant in their 2018 Wimbledon Juniors meeting when she allowed Raducanu just one game. Swiatek started her Indian Wells campaign with a 6-0 6-1 win over Claire Liu before facing down a strong challenge from Bianca Andreescu 6-3 7-6. In her first tournament since the Australian Open, Raducanu beat Danka Kovinic and Magda Linette in straight sets before overcoming Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-4 in the third. I am excited to see what the young Brit brings and I do believe she can trouble Swiatek but I will not be picking against the Pole in her current form.
Prediction: Swiatek in 2
Main Photo Credit: Taya Gray/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK
