Miami Open Wildcards Announced
Former World No.7 Belinda Bencic and doubles No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands feature among the list of Miami Open main draw wildcards. Check out the full list right here on wtatennis.com!
Former World No.7 Belinda Bencic and doubles No.1 Bethanie Mattek-Sands feature among the list of Miami Open main draw wildcards. Check out the full list right here on wtatennis.com!
Highlights of the first-round match at the BNP Paribas Open between Donna Vekic and Alison Riske.
The lower half of the singles draw will kick into action on Thursday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Chris Oddo takes a look at the compelling matchups right here at wtatennis.com.
Thursday
First round
Eugenie Bouchard (CAN # 53) vs. Annika Beck (GER # 61)
Head-to-head: Tied, 1-1
Key Stat: Bouchard saved all five break points she faced in her straight sets win over Beck last year at New Haven.
A pair of 23-year-olds with tons of potential will look to kick their 2017 campaigns into high gear on Thursday when Eugenie Bouchard and Annika Beck meet for the third time. Bouchard started the year promisingly by reaching the semifinals at Sydney, but she has not won since falling in a tight three-setter in the third round of the Australian Open to CoCo Vandeweghe. Bouchard has been solid in all of her main draw appearances at Indian Wells, and owns a 6-3 record at this event. Is it time for some of the hard work that Bouchard has done under coach Thomas Hogstedt to pay off this week?
Meanwhile 2017 has been a struggle for Beck, whose ranking peaked at a career-high of 37 last July. She lost her first three matches of the season and only owns one Top 50 win. Beck has only been past the second round once at Indian Wells, and has lost three of her last four here.
Pick: Bouchard in two
Peng Shuai (CHN # 41) vs. Lesia Tsurenko (UKR # 49)
Head-to-head: Peng leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Peng was ranked 768 in the world last year at Indian Wells.
Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko comes into the BNP Paribas Open riding high, having won her third career title last weekend in Acapulco, but she’ll need to stay on guard on Thursday when she faces a tricky qualifier who is a former BNP Paribas Open quarterfinalist with 12 wins to her name. Peng Shuai was ranked well outside of the Top 700 when she visited Indian Wells last season, but this year she’s back inside the Top 50 after a 2016 full of victories on the ITF and WTA circuit. Peng’s story is characterized by determination and fortitude – she has battled through serious back issues to reemerge as a factor on tour. Tsurenko, who enters the main draw with an impressive 9-2 record on the season, is closing in on her peak ranking, just eight spots shy of the career-best No.33 ranking she achieved in 2015.
Pick: Tsurenko in three
Andrea Petkovic (GER #79) vs. Vania King (USA # 91)
Head-to-head: Petkovic leads, 3-0
Key Stat: Petkovic has lost her last four matches at Indian Wells; her last three in three sets.
Andrea Petkovic and Vania King will battle for the right to face Angelique Kerber in the second round, and while it is Petkovic that owns the decided edge in the pair’s head-to-head, King is a Southern California native who will relish the chance to knock off a few big names on home soil. King hasn’t had much traction thus far in 2017, but she does own eight career main draw wins at Indian Wells, including a Top 20 upset over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in 2012.
Working in King’s favor is the fact that Petkovic, even when she has been playing her best tennis, has never been able to figure out the tricky desert conditions at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The German is 1-5 lifetime here, and has not won a main draw match since she defeated Lucie Safarova in 2011.
It’s been a long time for Petko. Will she be able to find her form against the lesser-ranked King, or will King come through with another big win in the Golden State?
Pick: King in three
Jelena Jankovic (SRB # 51) vs. Irina Falconi (USA # 96)
Head-to-head: Jankovic leads, 1-0
Key Stat: Jankovic has made more main draw appearances than any other player in BNP Paribas Open history.
2010 champion and 2015 BNP Paribas Open runner-up Jelena Jankovic will bid for her 26th main draw win at Indian Wells when she takes on feisty Irina Falconi for the second time and first on a hardcourt.
Jankovic, who lost in the round of 16 last year to eventual semifinalist Agnieszka Radwanska, comes into Thursday’s match on a four-match losing streak. But the Serb is back on her home soil. Falconi may play for the stars and stripes, but Jankovic now owns a home in San Diego and considers herself a California girl. Will a dose of the dreamy desert landscape do Jankovic good, or will it be Falconi who secures the upset and earns the right to face Venus Williams in the second round?
Pick: Jankovic in two
Around the Grounds:
American wildcard Taylor Townsend has won four of five first-round encounters at Indian Wells. She’ll try to make it five of six on Thursday when she faces Polish qualifier Magda Linette (winner faces No.13-seeded Caroline Wozniacki).
Croatia’s Ajla Tomljanovic will continue her comeback at Indian Wells with a first-round battle with Germany’s Julia Goerges. After missing a full year due to a shoulder injury, Tomljanovic made her return at Acapulco last week, where she upset Eugenie Bouchard in her first match.
Russia’s Ekaterina Makarova will battle Spanish qualifier Sara Sorribes Tormo for the right to face Agnieszka Radwanska in the second round. The former World No.8 has never been past the third round in nine previous BNP Paribas Open appearances.
– Photos courtesy of Getty Images
Jelena Jankovic takes on Irina Falconi in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open.
Just before her 20th birthday, Belinda Bencic scores her first WTA main draw win of the season, ousting Tsvetana Pironkova to advance in Indian Wells.
Dominika Cibulkova talks about the BNP Paribas Open.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Former World No.38 Heather Watson got off to a good start on the first day of main draw play at the BNP Paribas Open, surviving a strong challenge from Nicole Gibbs, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, to book an exciting second-round clash with countrywoman and No.11 seed Johanna Konta.
? on the backhand winner from @HeatherWatson92! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/ZVm80ZFAaF
— WTA (@WTA) March 8, 2017
“The first set was very close; I think I just made a few more errors than I usually do,” she said during her on-court interview. “I tried to go for bigger targets to have bigger margin; I think that worked!”
Watson and Gibbs split their last two encounters, with the Brit recovering from a set down in their most recent meeting at last year’s French Open.
AMAZING pass from @HeatherWatson92! ? #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/VJXe1wXpp9
— WTA (@WTA) March 8, 2017
“I’m good friends with Nicole off the court,” added Watson. “She’s a great player, and her strengths lie in her grit and fight on the court. I knew she’d be fighting her hardest no matter what today, so I just had to make sure that I was playing well and fighting back.”
Unseeded in Indian Wells, the 24-year-old had yet to win a WTA main draw match in 2017. She nonetheless roared back from a set down against Gibbs, hitting 26 winners to 15 from her American opponent to advance in one hour and 49 minutes.
Up next for Watson is a familiar face and Fed Cup teammate in Konta; the pair won a decisive doubles rubber just three weeks ago to clinch a spot in World Group II Play-Offs for Great Britain.
.@HeatherWatson92 finishes a great rally in style! #BNPPO17 pic.twitter.com/klBqgXrUlq
— WTA (@WTA) March 8, 2017
“Jo’s another good friend of mine; we just played Fed Cup together,” said Watson. “She’s playing brilliantly; she’s really shot up in the last year and a half. I look forward to it, and look forward to the challenge.”
Konta hasn’t played a match since, withdrawing from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships due to a left foot injury.
Over on Stadium 2, Monica Niculescu also came back from a set down to knock out fellow Romanian Sorana Cirstea, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Niculescu next plays No.15 seed Timea Bacsinszky.
Angelique Kerber talks before the start of the BNP Paribas Open.
INDIAN WELLS, CA, USA – Monica Puig dropped just two games against American wildcard Danielle Collins on her way to the second round at the BNP Paribas Open.
Puig put together a dominant performance against Collins to advance 6-0, 6-2 after just under an hour and ten minutes.
“I always like playing on center stage, I guess it’s where I feel most comfortable,” Puig said in her post-match interview. “I’m always happy to play in Indian Wells, it’s one of my favorite tournaments.”
It was a different story for Collins, who was playing in just her third main draw match of her career. She found herself outhit and out of her depth as she fell to the Olympic champion.
The 23-year-old American – a two-time NCAA singles winner at the University of Virginia – showed flashes of promise against Puig as she targeted the Puerto Rican’s backhand high over her shoulder. But she allowed Puig to dictate the pace and dominate the rallies.
.@MonicaAce93 cruises past Collins 6-0, 6-2!
Plays @KaPliskova next in @BNPPARIBASOPEN Second round! pic.twitter.com/nUyuWZWBq7
— WTA (@WTA) March 9, 2017
After being shut out of the first set after just 24 minutes, Collins rallied back to earn a confidence-boosting first break of the match to start the second set. But the joy was short lived as Puig came roaring back, grabbing the break right back to level the score before reeling off the last four games in a row for a spot in the second round.
“You never know what to expect – I used to play against [Collins] when I was like, ten years old. I haven’t played her in a few years so I needed some time to feel her out a bit. I found my groove and finished off strong,” Puig said.
Waiting in the second round is No.3 seed Karolina Pliskova – it was originally Serena Williams before she announced her withdrawal from the tournament and caused a reshuffling of seeds. Puig trails the Czech 0-3 in the pair’s win-loss record.
“For me it’s not really a huge change,” Puig said of having to play Pliskova instead of Serena. “I was already waiting on a difficult opponent if I made it to the second round, and I still got a difficult opponent in the second round.
“It doesn’t really change much; I’m familiar with Pliskova and I’ve played her a few times. Lost a few times, too. She’s near the top of the game right now because she’s an amazing player.”
Agnieszka Radwanska talks before the start of the BNP Paribas Open.