The last four singles quarterfinals will be played on Thursday in tennis paradise.
The ATP quarterfinals on this day are both blockbusters. Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz is just three wins away from winning this title and regaining the World No.1 ranking, but Felix Auger-Aliassime stands in his way, and Carlitos has never defeated Felix. In the other men’s quarterfinal, defending champion Taylor Fritz faces a red-hot ginger in Jannik Sinner.
The WTA singles quarterfinals feature two reigning Slam champs, in Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina. And Thursday’s doubles quarterfinals include both the men’s and women’s top seeds.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Thursday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Taylor Fritz (4) vs. Jannik Sinner (11) – Not Before 3:00pm on Stadium 1
Fritz is now 17-4 on the season, and vying to reach the semifinals of this event for the third straight year. This is the only Masters 1000 tournament where he has advanced that far, as he’s 0-3 in quarterfinals at other Masters events. Taylor has advanced comfortably to this stage, only dropping one set in his opening round against Ben Shelton.
Sinner is 15-3, and was only 3-1 at Indian Wells heading into this year. Jannik is yet to drop a set, but he went 0-3 in Masters 1000 quarterfinals in 2022. He actually went 2-8 overall in quarterfinals last season, with two of those being heartbreakers at Majors: a five-set loss to Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros, and a five-hour five-set loss to Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open.
Their only previous meeting occurred two years ago at this very tournament, with Fritz prevailing in straight sets. But Sinner seems primed for a deep run at a big event based on his current form, and his only prior Masters 1000 semifinal was achieved in North America, two years ago in Miami. I give the Italian the slight edge over the defending champion on Thursday.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime (8) – Not Before 6:00pm on Stadium 1
Despite missing the ATP Finals and Australian Open due to injury, and suffering another injury scare a few weeks ago in Rio, Alcaraz has been in tremendous form during this tournament. He is yet to drop a set, and will be fully fresh for this quarterfinal after receiving a retirement in the last round from Jack Draper.
Auger-Aliassime spent a full two more hours on court Tuesday night for his fourth round match against Tommy Paul, during which he saved six match points to eventually prevail in a third-set tiebreak. And even though his first two matches were straight-setters, they were both quite long and a bit complicated. Felix is now 11-5 in 2023.
This would all seem to indicate Alcaraz is a heavy favorite in this quarterfinal. However, he is 0-3 against Auger-Aliassime. Felix defeated an injured Carlitos in the quarterfinals of the 2021 US Open, as well as a year later in Davis Cup just a week after Carlitos’ 2022 US Open triumph, and a month later in Basel. Yet on this slower-playing hard court surface, I like Alcaraz to earn his first win over the Canadian.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Karolina Muchova vs. Elena Rybakina (10) – Surprisingly, this is Muchova’s first time playing at Indian Wells, and she is thriving. A healthy Karolina is into her second consecutive WTA 1000 quarterfinal, after doing the same in Dubai. Rybakina is now 13-4 on the year, and has not lost a set this fortnight. Muchova claimed their only previous meeting, though that occurred four years ago at the US Open, well before Rybakina became the force she is today.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Sorana Cirstea – Swiatek is 15-3 in 2023, and oddly is yet to contest a three-set match this season. Cirstea is a surprising quarterfinalist who has upset both Madison Keys and Caroline Garcia. Iga defeated Sorana 6-3 in the third at last year’s Australian Open.
Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova (1) vs. Storm Hunter and Elise Mertens (6) – Krejcikova and Siniakova are on an eight-match win streak as a team, after winning this year’s Australian Open. Hunter and Mertens are a newly-formed partnership for this event.
Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski (1) vs. Jamie Murray and Michael Venus – Koolhof and Skupski were 2022’s best ATP team, but are yet to win a title in 2023. Murray and Venus are a new team this season, and won the Dallas Open last month.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
