Compared to last year where upsets were a theme, this time, it’s the top seeds who are poised to take over the BNP Paribas Open following their strong performances in the earlier rounds.
Iga Swiatek, Maria Sakkari, and defending champion Paula Badosa are the only players left who are in the WTA Top 10, while former No. 1 Simona Halep is also making some noise.
With the likes of Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, Ashleigh Barty out in the competition, the Indian Wells Masters trophy is up for grabs and it’ll be interesting to see on who will eventually win it in these next couple of days.
After reading what’s going on in the men’s division, indulge yourself more on the hottest tennis action as SBOTOP gives you the latest BNP Paribas Open 2022 updates in the women’s side.
Maria Sakkari and Iga Swiatek looking like the favourites
The BNP Paribas Open 2022 odds are favouring either Maria Sakkari or Iga Swiatek to win in Southern California because of their recent forms and respective WTA rankings.
To say that Iga Swiatek is on a roll is an understatement as she has yet to taste defeat in 2022. The Polish international is leading the tour in overall victories in 2022, with 17 match-wins on tour this season.
Her latest over Kerber is also her 15th career victory against Top 20 opposition, but it didn’t come easy as she had to claw her way back for the win.
The 2020 Roland Garros champion found herself a set down but she regained momentum in the second set when she had a run of five straight breaks to draw level. Kerber threatened to mount her own comeback in the final set, but Swiatek didn’t waste time to finish her off.
Swiatek will now take on World No. 25 Madison Keys in the next round – who is fresh from a victory against British qualifier Harriet Dart. This will be Swiatek’s first-ever BNP Paribas Open quarter-final.
Maria Sakkari, on the other hand, made it this far after coming off of a walkover victory against Daria Saville – who unfortunately had been forced to retire due to an Achilles injury.
Saville was visibly hampered in her movement. And after calling for a medical timeout down 4-1 in the first set, the Australian informed the umpire and Sakkari that she would no longer continue.
Prior to Saville, Sakkari produced a dominant display over former World No. 2 Petra Kvitova in the third round. The current World No. 6 was aggressive from the jump as she kept on pressing Kvitova, and it was clear that the Czech had no chance in the 6-3, 6-0 victory.
Maria Sakkari is now slated to face World No. 17 Elena Rybakina – who is coming off of a win over Viktorija Golubic.
Paula Badosa gunning for a repeat
Paula Badosa’s title defense is well and alive as she remains unbeaten in the California desert.
The 24-year-old Spaniard has been nothing short of spectacular since she’s yet to drop a single set in her first title defence of her career with victories over Tereza Martincova, Sara Sorribes Tormo, and Leylah Fernandez.
Yesterday’s win over World No. 18 Fernandez extended her run to nine straight matches, and the last player to have such streak was Naomi Osaka from 2018 to 2019.
The first set was a cagey one since both players traded games. Badosa always had one foot out front but Fernandez was persistent in drawing level. But eventually, Badosa struck back to lead 5-4 and she was able to close out the opening set with a love hold.
It was a similar affair in the second set, but Badosa would shut the door on Fernandez and would never relinquish the lead again when she held a 3-2 advantage.
Up next for Paula Badosa is Veronika Kudermetova, who has proven to be a tough matchup for her in the past. Kudermetova holds a 3-0 head-to-head advantage over Badosa, with the most latest win coming nearly one year ago in Charleston.
Veronika Kudermetova will get to experience her first BNP Paribas Open quarter-final after coming off of a grueling three-setter against Marketa Vondrousova – in a match that lasted for nearly three hours.
Expect Paula Badosa to go all-out since she has a lot to gain from this tournament. She has a chance at leaving Indian Wells with a career-high No. 2 ranking and she can be the first woman since Martina Navratilova to successfully defend her Indian Wells title in over 30 years.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE TENNIS STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
