Tennis News

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is back in Indian Wells, where he will begin his fortnight on Saturday afternoon in an attempt to build on his impressive start to 2015. Djokovic will come up against the entertaining Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, whom he holds a 7-0 head-to-head record against. However, this will be their first meeting since the Miami Masters in 2012.

Follow the match Live Here: Djokovic vs Baghdatis Live Streaming

The top seed is coming off a near-perfect start to his 2015 season, as he won the Australian Open with a victory over Andy Murray in the final, then went on to finish runner-up to Roger Federer in Dubai. He also found time to help his country advance to the quarter-final round of the Davis Cup.

Apart from this being an important tournament for Djokovic, he is particularly excited to have his family along for the trip, as his son will get to watch him play live for the first time.

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“[Stefan is] here actually and both dogs are here,” Djokovic said in his pre-tournament press conference on Thursday. “It’s amazing to be a father… to become a parent, to share that joy of raising a child with your wife. Of course, the dogs are there. We consider them children… They love Stefan and Stefan loves them back… We work as a big family.”

Djokovic will begin his campaign against Marcos Baghdatis, who started his week at Indian Wells with a victory over Jiri Vesely. The Cypriot and former Grand Slam finalist actually won the match via retirement, but was leading 6-3, 1-1 before the Czech was forced to surrender the encounter. In the 49 minutes of actual court time, Baghdatis hit 3 aces, won 60% of his first service points and converted three break points to earn the victory.

This marks the eighth time that Djokovic and Baghdatis will meet on the professional tour, with Djokovic leading the series with a 7-0 mark. Their last meeting took place three years ago at the Miami Master but it is unlikely that that will affect the predicted scoreline.

Prediction: Novak Djokovic in Straight Sets

The 32nd seed at the 2015 edition of the Indian Wells Premier event, two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka, will begin her fortnight in the American desert in a second round match-up against Kirsten Flipkens, a player she has faced twice previously on the professional tour. Azarenka leads the head-to-head series 2-0, including a victory at this event back in 2013.

You will be able to watch the match Live Here: Azarenka vs Flipkens Live Streaming

While she may not have won a title yet this year, Azarenka came close and showed her vast improvement over the past year when she finished runner-up to Lucie Safarova in Doha. Safarova, who held a losing record against Azarenka, snatched an early break against the Belarusian and maintained that lead throughout the remainder of the match to win 6-4, 6-3.

Given the injury plague that she had to overcome in 2014, Azarenka was happy with her showing that week, and hopes to further that development at Indian Wells.

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“And there’s been a lot of progress this week. A lot of good things happened, a lot of great matches. There are a lot of things I can take with me and can keep working on – I’m still really motivated. I’m obviously disappointed for losing the final today, but I just have to move on from this quickly.”

Her opponent in the second round, Kirsten Flipkens, reached that stage of the event with a 6-2, 6-4 win over local Shelby Rogers. She struck three aces, won 67% of her 1st service points, and saved eight break points to close out the match in 1 hour and 33 minutes.

This marks the third time that Azarenka and Flipkens will meet on the professional tour, and the first time since a 2013 meeting at this very event. At that event, Azarenka rallied from a set down to beat her Belgian adversary and could possibly face a similar outcome this time around.

Prediction: Victoria Azarenka in Straight Sets

Former champion Maria Sharapova will begin her campaign at Indian Wells as the second seed at the 2015 edition of the event. The Russian superstar will begin her fortnight in the desert against Yanina Wickmayer, whom she last met six years ago in Birmingham. Sharapova leads the head-to-head series 1-0 and will look to maintain that undefeated record en route to the third round.

Follow the match Live Here: Sharapova vs Wickmayer Live Streaming

Sharapova was last seen down in South America, where she lost to Caroline Garcia in the semi-final round of the Mexico Open in Acapulco. Prior to that, she won both her Fed Cup matches against Poland, beating the Radwanska sisters to secure the tie for her nation. She kicked off her season with a title win in Brisbane and a runner-up showing at the Australian Open, so it is safe to assume that Sharapova will be in fine form once she steps out onto the hard court at Indian Wells.

Sharapova will also be faced with her biggest rival, Serena Williams, who will return to the tournament for the first time in 14 years. While Sharapova has not beaten the American in over a decade, she welcomes her return with open arms.

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“Personally, I’ve always said—when you’re playing any event, especially being at the top of tennis, you want to be playing against the best and as I’ve said before, she’s the best. And you want to be in the same field as the best.”

The Russian will come up against Yanina Wickmayer in her first match at the tournament. The world No. 91 began her run against Karin Knapp, who she defeated 6-1, 7-5 to reach the second round. Yanina hit two aces, won 55% of her first service points and broke serve twice to close out the match in 1 hour and 18 minutes.

This marks the second time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Sharapova leading the head-to-head series 1-0. While there is a six-year gap between matches, Sharapova will likely produce a similar result this time around.

Prediction: Maria Sharapova in Straight Sets