Only five months after 2021’s unique staging of this event in the fall, the top players in the world have returned to tennis paradise in the California desert.
The men’s singles draw is headlined by newly-anointed World No.1 Daniil Medvedev, and the man who has already defeated him twice this year, 21-time Major champion Rafael Nadal. The defending champ is British No.1 Cam Norrie.
The women’s draw began with 11 Slam singles champions, two of whom already faced each other in the first round, with Naomi Osaka defeating Sloane Stephens on Thursday. The defending champ is Spanish No.1 Paula Badosa.
The WTA singles draw will be one day ahead of the ATP throughout the fortnight. The women’s second round begins on Friday, with the 32 seeded players (who receive a first round bye) playing their opening matches between Friday and Saturday. The men’s seeds will begin play on Saturday, as first round men’s singles action concludes on Friday.
Indian Wells also provides some of the best doubles draws of the season The two-week schedule, as well as the best-of-three format, encourages many top singles players to enter. The men’s doubles field is especially loaded, with names like Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Friday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Andy Murray (WC) vs. Taro Daniel (Q) – 11:00am on Stadium 1
Amazingly, this is already the third time these players will meet this year. At the Australian Open, Daniel took out a physically-sapped Murray in straight sets. In Doha, Andy avenged that loss with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 victory. The rubber match will occur on Friday. Historically, Indian Wells has been one of the weakest events in Murray’s career. He is just 27-13 lifetime, and it’s one of only two Masters 1000 tournaments he’s never won. Meanwhile ,Indian Wells was the site of one of Taro’s career highlights, when he defeated Novak Djokovic in 2018. The 29-year-old from Japan has been playing well since hiring Sven Groeneveld as his coach several months ago. But a well-rested Murray will likely prove too much for Daniel, much as he did in Doha. Back in October at this event, Murray outlasted one the sport’s fastest-rising stars, Carlos Alcaraz, in a three-setter that lasted over three hours. That was evidence that Andy can still compete with the best in the world. In an open part of the draw where Djokovic previously resided, Murray has an opportunity for a deep run in the desert.
Emma Raducanu (11) vs. Caroline Garcia – Not Before 1:00pm on Stadium 1
Since her remarkable run at last year’s US Open, it’s been a struggle for the young Brit. Raducanu is just 3-6, and has dropped five of her last six matches. It’s no surprise it’s taken her some time to adjust after such a shocking, life-changing run, and there’s certainly no reason for the 19-year-old to panic. Emma is still extremely new to the tour, obviously has plenty of talent, and is working with an experienced coach in Torben Beltz, the multi-time former coach of Angelique Kerber. 28-year-old Garcia was ranked No.4 in the world just three-and-a-half years ago, but has fallen outside the top 50 after three seasons in which she’s won as much as she’s lost. However, she gained some momentum two weeks ago by advancing to the semifinals in Lyon. And Caroline grinded out a tough win on Wednesday over Dayana Yastremska. Based on Raducanu’s recent results, Garcia should be favored to advance.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Iga Swiatek (3) vs. Anhelina Kalinina – Swiatek is off to a terrific 14-3 start to the season, and is coming off an impressive title run in Doha where she beat three of the top six in the world. Kalinina is a fellow 20-year-old from Ukraine who won five ITF-level events in 2021.
Simona Halep (24) vs. Ekaterina Alexandrova – Halep has won 17 of her last 21 matches. Alexandrova is only 3-4 on the year, and survived a third-set tiebreak on Wednesday against an American wild card ranked 317th in the world. They have split four previous meetings, with Ekaterina claiming two of three on hard courts.
Garbine Muguruza (8) vs. Alison Riske – Following a strong 2021, Muguruza is only 5-4 in 2022. Riske has reached two WTA finals since November, and she is 2-2 against Garbine, having taken their last two encounters.
Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios (WC) – The close friends from Australia were the men’s doubles champions in Melbourne. Dodig and Melo are two highly-accomplished doubles players, though they’ve lost three of their last four matches.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
