Tennis News

Following a solid few weeks in South America during the Golden Swing former champion Rafael Nadal is back on American soil, where he will compete at the Indian Wells Masters event. The Spaniard will begin his week against Igor Sijsling, whom he has never encountered previously on the professional tour.

Follow the match Live Here: Nadal vs Sijsling Live Streaming

Rafael Nadal lived up to his billing as the top seed of the Argentina Open, as he worked his way through the draw to eventually lift the crown following a quick final against Juan Monaco. Prior to that, he had lost in the semi-final round in Rio to Fabio Fognini, which snapped a 52-match win streak in semi-final matches on clay.

While this is the first time in a while that the Big Four are all present together at a Masters 1000 event, Nadal told ibtimes.com that he does not make much of that, In fact, he believes their era is actually nearing an end.

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“Novak, Andy, Roger, myself – it’s something special and it’s finishing,” Nadal chimed in. “I don’t know if (it will happen) in one, two, three, four years, but for everybody it finishes, hopefully we created a good example for the next generations.”

The Spaniard will come up against Igor Sijsling, who needed three sets to get past Filip Krajinovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. He struck nine aces, served at 60% and saved 13 break points he faced in the match to close out the contest in one hour and 58 minutes.

This marks the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour. Nadal will undoubtedly be the favourite in this encounter and should have little trouble en route to the third round of the tournament.

Prediction: Rafael Nadal in Straight Sets

Following a strong start to his run at Indian Wells, rising Australian star Nick Kyrgios has been matched up with in a riveting second round clash against world No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov. The outstanding match-up will be the first that these two competitors will play against each other, but is hardly going to be their last.

Follow the match Live Here: Dimitrov vs Kyrgios Live Streaming

World No. 11 Grigor Dimitrov is coming off a second round exit in Acapulco last week, as well as a similar result in Rotterdam before that. He began his season with a semi-final loss to Roger Federer in Brisbane and a fourth round appearance at the Australian Open. He is yet to find his top form this season but should be motivated to perform this week at Indian Wells.

“He’s one of the best players in the world right now and that’s why I play the sport, to have a chance to go out there and compete against the best players in the world,” Kyrgios said about his upcoming opponent. “I’m just going to go out there and have a lot of fun again.”

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Kyrgios began his week in the American desert against Denis Kudla, whom he defeated in straight sets to earn his first win since the Australian Open. The 19-year-old has been out of action since reaching the quarter-final stage of the season-opening Grand Slam event, and will be looking to complete another impressive week at the Masters 1000 event.

“I’m just glad to be back. It was killing me not being able to play, especially after the Australian Open,” he said. “I was loving it. I had a good time back home, and I was ready to get back out there and start competing again. I thought I played really well for my first match back. He’s not an easy opponent. He’s playing some really good tennis, so I’m really proud of myself.”

This marks the first ever meeting between Grigor Dimitrov and Nick Kyrgios and is certainly one of the matches that fans will be attracted to. Both players are entertaining, flashy players who know how to impress a crowd, while simultaneously producing strong tennis. Dimitrov should have the advantage against the player ranked 26 spots below him.

Prediction: Grigor Dimitrov in Three Sets

It is not often that one finds all eyes on a single particular tennis match at an event as big as the “fifth slam” Indian Wells. However, that was certainly the case in Serena Williams’ emotional return to the tournament following a 14-year absence. Following her opening victory, she is through to the third round of the tournament, where she will face Zarina Diyas for the first time on the professional tour.

Follow the match Live Here: Williams vs Diyas Live Streaming

While it was a match that the top seed could have breezed through under any other circumstances, that was certainly not the case on Friday night at Indian Wells. The American struggled at several portions of her match against Monica Niculescu and but eventually managed to close out the encounter 7-5, 7-5.

“I feel really good. I feel like the nerves have kind of gone away. I feel better,” Williams said in her post-match press conference. “I was a little nervous. The weeks leading up to it, days leading up to it, and eventually the hours, it was a little nerve-wracking. But now I’m good that I was able to do this.

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“It definitely feels like one of the biggest and proudest moments of my career.”

There was even a few tears following the match.

“At that moment I just felt so good to be out there. I felt like I made the right decision and I knew I wanted to do it – I knew I really wanted to do it. But up until that moment, I didn’t really know if it was the right thing to do.”

Now thorough to the third round, Williams will come up against Zarina Diyas, who defeated Donna Vekic in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, to set up the match.

This marks the first time that these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, and will certainly be another one of the matches that Williams should win, even if it is somewhat of a struggle. After putting her return match behind her, the rest of the tournament should be nothing more than business as usual.

Prediction: Serena Williams in Straight Sets

Another player undergoing a difficult week at the American desert is Simona Halep, who plays at the tournament this year with a heavy heart following a tragedy that occurred in her family on Monday. After a slow start in her opening match, she is through to the third round of the Premier event and will look to battle onwards when she crosses paths with Varvara Lepchenko. This is just the second time that these two competitors will cross paths on the WTA tour, with the Romanian leading the head-to-head series 1-0.

Follow the match Live Here: Halep vs Lepchenko Live Streaming

The third seed had an early hiccup in her opening match against Russia’s Daria Gavrilova but was able to rally back and earn the 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. Once she overcame the first set, she settled into the match and regained command, after which she dropped a mere three games.

“It was my first time playing against her, and I didn’t know how she was playing, and I went on court very nervous and my forehand wasn’t working well,” Halep said. “She plays really tough. She runs a lot and she’s a good defender. I just had to relax and do everything I could to win every point.

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Halep was also asked bout the tragedy that took place in her family.

“It’s really tough to speak about this situation. It’s a painful situation for everyone, for me and for my family,” she commented. “I just wanted to play this tournament because he loved tennis. He played tennis for many years. So I decided to stay here, because it was a little bit easier to pass this situation. I just want to dedicate this match to him, because he loved tennis and he was very talented.”

In the third round, Halep will encounter Lepchenko, who defeated wildcard Sachia Vickery, 6-4, 6-1.

This marks the second time that Halep and Lepchenko will cross paths on the professional tour, with Halep leading the series 1-0. Their sole meeting took place in the second round of the 2014 edition of the Australian Open, which lasted three sets. While it is very possible that Halep will struggle again this time around, she should still be a significant favourite to advance to the next stage of the tournament.

Prediction: Simona Halep in Three Sets

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