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

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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