It’s time to wrap up the fourth round on Day 8 of the 2024 WTA BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, and find out who the last quarterfinalists will be. Are we still on track for the Aryna Sabalenka-Coco Gauff meeting in the final four after some early close calls for both players? Can former runners-up Maria Sakkari (2022) and Daria Kasatkina (2018) keep their runs going as well?
WTA Indian Wells Day 8 Predictions
Diane Parry vs Maria Sakkari
Head-to-head: First meeting
Diane Parry was quietly playing the best tennis of her career since the beginning of the season, but her rise will not be overlooked anymore after her run here. It still kinda needs a statement win though and beating Maria Sakkari, who’s currently sitting at No. 9 in the WTA Rankings, would be exactly that. This has been a very strong event for the Greek though and while she’s been patchy of late, she might be tough to upset on these courts.
Prediction: Sakkari in 3
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Yue Yuan vs Daria Kasatkina
Head-to-head: First meeting
Yue Yuan finds herself on an eight-match winning streak by now, including her maiden WTA Tour title at Austin. The Chinese has long had a very high peak, but since the Asian Swing last year she’s really grown as a player with all the top-level experience she’s gotten. Is Daria Kasatkina going to be one bridge too far? Maybe as the 2018 runner-up generally enjoys the slow hard court Indian Wells conditions and could take advantage of all the tennis that Yuan has had to play recently.
Prediction: Kasatkina in 3
Emma Navarro vs Aryna Sabalenka
Head-to-head: First meeting
Aryna Sabalenka saved four match points against Peyton Stearns and while this might not be her favorite hard court in the world, it’s not still anyone can take her down here. Emma Navarro is going to be an interesting challenge, but does she have the peak game to trouble the World No. 2? Posting or even threatening a win like this would still be something new for her. She likely needs Sabalenka to struggle to get her baseline rhythm going again here, but the match is on the Belarusian’s racket.
Prediction: Sabalenka in 2
Elise Mertens vs Coco Gauff
Head-to-head: Gauff 3-0
Coco Gauff didn’t need to save match points unlike Sabalenka, but she fought back from 0-4 and 2-5 in the deciding set against Clara Burel. The American’s form has gone downhill after the Australian Open, and yet she’s still capable of posting a lot of wins while not playing her best tennis. Elise Mertens is often the kind of opponent that actually requires you to provide an excellent standard. But Gauff might just be less vulnerable to that style than erratic big hitters are, so she remains the favorite.
Prediction: Gauff in 3
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Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
