Tennis News

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

Following an impressive week in Dubai, Simona Halep will take part in the Indian Wells Premier event as one of the tournament’s top seeds. The Romanian will come up against Russia’s Daria Gavrilova in her first match in the American desert, an opponent whom she has never encountered previously on the WTA tour.

Follow the match Live Here: Halep vs Gavrilova Live Streaming

Simona Halep began her 2015 season with a title win in Shenzhen before advancing to the Australian Open. There, she reached the quarter-final stage, where she fell to Ekaterina Makarova. Since then, Halep has rebounded with a title win in Dubai, where she completed a turbulent win that included three set wins over Karolina Pliskova, Caroline Wozniacki, and Makarova. She will now look to carry forth that momentum this week under the intense heat at Indian Wells.

It should be noted that Halep also suffered from a rumoured tragedy in her family. According to police reports, Halep’s cousion, 29-year old, Nicia Arghir, hung himself in the office at his home on Monday in Romania. However, Halep is yet to speak out on the news. Initially, the Romanian star was comtemplating to withdraw from the event, which is more than understandable in this difficult moments.

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Halep will come up against Daria Gavrilova in the second round. The Russian qualifier defeated Lauren Embree and Arina Rodionova to reach the main draw of the tournament, and then beat Silvia Soler-Espinosa on Wednesday to secure her spot in the second round against Halep. Daria won the match 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour and 18 minutes; she won 68% of her first service points and broke serve five time to close out the victory.

This marks the first time that Halep and Gavrilova will cross paths on the professional circuit. Given the notable difference in ranking and experience, this should be a fairly straightforward opening match for Halep. However, given her slow start at events, and the rumoured tragedy that took place in her personal life, anything is possible in this Friday encounter.

Prediction: Simona Halep in Three Sets

Last month, the tennis community was dealt an interesting piece of news, as world No. 1 Serena Williams announced her long awaited return to Indian Wells following a 14-year absence from the tournament. The top seed will begin her first campaign in the American desert since 2001, where she will meet Monica Niculescu in the second round of the tournament. It will be the first ever career meeting between the two players.

Follow the match Live Here: Williams vs Niculescu Live Streaming

Williams vowed never to return to Indian Wells after being ferociously booed at the 2001 final against Kim Clijsters, after sister Venus withdrew from the match hours before the final. Her return to the event this year would have marked a significant step in a potential reconciliation between the two parties.

The American hasn’t played on the WTA tour since her Australian Open title win in January. She defeated a gauntlet of tough opponents during that time, including Garbine Muguruza, Dominika Cibulkova, Madison Keys, and Maria Sharapova. She most recently played in the opening round of the Fed Cup tie against Argentina, where she defeated Maria Irigoyen 7-5, 6-0.

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Williams will come up against Monica Niculescu in her opening match at Indian Wells. She defeated Aleksandra Krunic, 6-2, 6-1 to advance to the second round of the Premier event. The Romanian won 70% of her first service points and converted five break points to close out the win in 1 hour and 14 minutes.

She will now be faced with the daunting task of playing Serena Williams in her highly advertised return from a self-imposed exile.

“I don’t really know what to expect because we haven’t played before,” Niculescu said. “But obviously I know she has a lot of power, and I know I’m going to run a lot. I’m just going to play my game.

“She’s playing great and she wins this tournament every time. Hopefully I can play my best.”

This marks the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour. Williams will look to make a successful return to Indian Wells, and will be a heavy favourite to win the match and advance to the third round of the tournament.

Prediction: Serena Williams in Straight Sets

The 2014 season was clearly a disappointing one for Victoria Azarenka. She finished it with a 15-9 record without adding any titles to her cabinet – and, more importantly, she was unable to stay reasonably fit for its larger part. Plenty of careers were ruined by injuries before, so many of her fans were asking the same question – is she ever going to come back and return to the heights at which she was staying in the last couple of years?

Well, after February, it seems safe to say that Victoria Azarenka has managed to produce a successful comeback and that all those worries turned out to be unfounded. The first match she played ended in a defeat, but that has been the only big mistake she’s made so far in her comeback season. Since that loss, she has beaten Caroline Wozniacki (twice!), Angelique Kerber, and even her nemesis, Venus Williams, so it seems that only sky is the limit for her this year. It took a perfect performance from Dominika Cibulkova to stop her in Melbourne and one can also find suitable excuses for her loss against Lucie Safarova in Doha, so negatives are indeed rather scarce for the player from Belarus, who also seems rather unfazed by the departure of her long-time coach.

What’s more, while Azarenka seems to be on the rise, her closest rivals appear to be following a somewhat downward spiral. The top two seems to be reserved for Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, but the other spots are very much for the taking, with Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, and Agnieszka Radwanska all showing suspect form in the first two months of the new season. Eugenie Bouchard, who’s probably responsible for the departure of Sam Sumyk, seems to be focused on other things than playing tennis, while Ana Ivanovic is yet to prove that she’s capable of going far in the Grand Slams.

So how high can Azarenka realistically aim for? An optimist would probably say the top six, a pessimist would probably stay at top fifteen, but the bottom line is that she should get to the top fifteen at the very least if her body holds up, a question that will be asked again after the finals in Doha. Apart from that, nobody can question her hunger for success at the moment – and that was what got her the two Grand Slam titles in the first place.

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The first of back to back ATP Masters 1000 events begins on Thursday in Indian Wells, California. Looking to defend his title is Novak Djokovic, who won last year’s event in a third set tiebreaker against Roger Federer. There is a clean bill of health for the top 10 while in the top 20 just David Goffin and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga miss the event through injury.

See the full draw Here: ATP Indian Wells 2015 Draw

Watch the matches Live Here: Indian Wells Live Streaming

With each of the 32 seeds receiving a bye, there are few notable early matchups. Djokovic begins his defence against either Marcos Baghdatis or Jiri Vesely. Fitness permitting, Baghdatis will be looking to make it three in a row against Vesely. The Cypriot retired in his last match during a third set tiebreak in Dubai. Djokovic could face fellow Serbian Viktor Troicki in the third round but Troicki must see of Albert Ramos and Julien Benneteau. The former looks straight forward on paper giving Ramos’ preference for clay. Troicki has moved back into the top 40 after his return from suspension and will have a great chance of picking up his first win against Benneteau at the third time of asking. The Frenchman is just 1-4 on the year with the sole win coming in Sydney.

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John Isner looks to bounce back from Davis Cup disappointment with a good run here and opens with a qualifier. Isner’s loss to James Ward was decisive in Great Britain’s win over the US and Ward is amongst those hoping to earn a place in the main draw. A finalist in 2012, Isner is playing far below the level the saw him make that dream run. A big serving clash between him and Kevin Anderson is on the cards assuming the South African can see off either Federico Delbonis or Dusan Lajovic. Both players are far more comfortable on clay so it is tough to see either causing Anderson any trouble. Delbonis is 2-1 against Lajovic, with both wins coming on hard court.

Marin Cilic will play his first match of the year at this event and will be able to ease into the tournament with either Teymuraz Gabashvili or Juan Monaco up first while Guillermo Garcia-Lopez is the projected opponent in round three. While Garcia-Lopez actually defeated Cilic at Indian Wells 5 years ago, it is hard to see a repeat. Thanasi Kokkinakis will look to build on the momentum from his Davis Cup success at the weekend. His comeback win over Lukas Rosol was key in helping Australia defeat a weakened Czech Republic team. Kokkinakis faces Jan-Lennard Struff in round one.

Bernard Tomic was also part of that team, picking up two wins of his own. It feels as if a rematch of the Acapulco semi final is on the cards in round three with David Ferrer awaiting. Tomic will have to beat Andreas Haider-Maurer or a qualifier if he hopes to avenge the 4-6 6-3 1-6 loss while an 18-1 Ferrer opens against the winner of Ivan Dodig and Joao Sousa.

Andy Murray looks to complete his collection of outdoor hard court Masters titles with a victory here but his route to the final will be tough with both Djokovic and Kei Nishikori in the way. Two efficient Davis Cup displays suggest Murray is out of the post-Australian Open funk as he looks to better his 2009 final run. His round one opponent will come off a Davis Cup high with either Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin or Vasek Pospisil of Canada up first. Philipp Kohlschreiber (plays winner of Benjamin Becker-Tim Smyczek) is the projected round three opponent. They have yet to play on a hard court but split two matches on clay, the most recent at Roland Garros last year.

In theory, Fabio Fognini and Ernests Gulbis should both see off opening round opponents to book a clash between two of the tour’s bad boys. However, it is far from straight forward with this pair with Gulbis winless on the year while Fognini’s hard court results leave a lot to be desired. Fognini plays Adrian Mannarino or a qualifier while Gulbis will play Sam Groth or a qualifier.

Rounding off the top half of the draw is Kei Nishikori‘s section. The Japanese star temporarily moved into the top 4 with his performances this year and can improve further with just third round points to defend. That should be easy enough with either Ryan Harrison or a returning Mardy Fish in round two. He is 0-2 against projected opponent Fernando Verdasco in round three but his level in 2011/2012 is unrecognisable from the current day and he should get on the board in that matchup if Verdasco can beat Dominic Thiem or a qualifier.

A good run on the clay has seen Pablo Cuevas reach a career high ranking but hard courts are not really for the Uruguayan. He is 7-10 on the surface since he returned to the tour in late 2013 after a long time out with injury. He looks one of the most vulnerable seeds with Jarkko Nieminen or a qualifier hoping to spring a surprise win. Meanwhile, another player currently at their career high ranking hopes to improve further. Feliciano Lopez hit no.12 at the age of 33 and should be good to make a likely fourth round meeting with Nishikori. A battle of lefties in round two seems likely with Gilles Muller expected to get the better of Marinko Matosevic in their first round clash.

Simone Bolelli already has a win over sixth seed Milos Raonic this year in Marseille but will hope lightning strikes twice if he gets the chance to face the Canadian in round two. Bolelli opens against Thomaz Bellucci while Santiago Giraldo will play either Alexandr Dolgopolov or a qualifier. Dolgopolov is 5-5 on the year having made back to back quarter finals in Delray Beach and Acapulco.

One of the more attractive potential second rounders on paper is between Nick Kyrgios and Grigor Dimitrov, assuming the Australian can see off wildcard Denis Kudla. However, Kyrgios is short on matches having not played since the Australian Open. Tommy Robredo is the projected third round opponent here but his 2015 has been far from stellar. He has won just 2 matches so far, both on the clay against wildcard opponents. Robredo will face either Andrey Golubev or Dustin Brown.

After failing to take the title in Rio, doubts have surfaced regarding Rafael Nadal. However, worries over the 2013 winner’s longevity have proved in the past to be unfounded and writing him off on the basis of a few poor results remains as crazy as it ever was. He opens against Igor Sijsling or a qualifier while Frenchmen likely stand in the way of him and the quarter finals. Jeremy Chardy is his expected third round opponent while the two seeds competing for a place in the fourth round in his section are Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon whom Nadal is 19-2 against.

Lukas Rosol looks to bounce back from Davis Cup disappointment with a run here but Stanislas Wawrinka waiting in round three will likely put paid to that. Martin Klizan or Pablo Andujar is up first and the Czech should have too much for them while Wawrinka faces Robin Haase or a qualifier. Wawrinka will probably have to defeat a second Czech if the draw goes to plan with a exciting encounter with Tomas Berdych projected in round four.

Wawrinka is 11-5 overall and 2-0 against the 9th seed who opens against Sam Querrey or Sergiy Stakhovsky. Aside from his run to the Memphis semi finals, Querrey has not won a match but an opponent he is 3-0 against is something to inspire confidence. Meanwhile, Steve Johnson and Ivo Karlovic face off for the second time in a month. Karlovic won that last clash in straights on his way to winning the title in Delray Beach.

Roger Federer was close to building further on his record four Indian Wells titles but was denied in the final by Novak Djokovic in a final set tie The Swiss is probably the favourite from the bottom half, especially if he continues in the form that saw him pick up the Dubai title. In round two he begins against either 6ft8 Jerzy Janowicz or Diego Schwartzman who comes in slightly shorter at 5ft7. Round three provides him with the opportunity to gain revenge over Andreas Seppi for the Australian Open loss. If the Italian fails to make it, Federer will be excited at the prospect of extending his lengthy win record over Mikhail Youzhny who faces a qualifier.

Leonardo Mayer comes into this event off his Davis Cup victory against Joao Souza, which lasted over 6 hours. A returning Jack Sock will fancy his chances of making a run here with Yen Hsun-Lu and Mayer standing between him and a round three place.  Roberto Bautista-Agut will be a tougher test for the American, who has lost both matches against the 15th seed.