Third round singles matches begin on Sunday, with the women’s draw providing several compelling matchups.
One is an encounter between two Major champions, as Petra Kvitova faces Jelena Ostapenko. Another features two of the sport’s most promising young stars, as Coco Gauff takes on Linda Noskova. Other third round matches on Sunday feature Daniil Medvedev, Aryna Sabalenka, Casper Ruud, and Jessica Pegula.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Sunday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Coco Gauff (6) vs. Linda Noskova – Not Before 3:00pm on Stadium 1
This is a battle between two 18-year-olds, though Gauff will celebrate her 19th birthday on Monday. Coco is 12-3 to start the year, and won a title during the first week of the season in Auckland. She’s 0-2 in the third round of this event, but her losses in this round have been anything but embarrassing, as they came against Paula Badosa and Simona Halep.
A year ago, Noskova was ranked outside the top 200. But she’s now on the verge of cracking the top 50. Linda is 12-4 at all levels in 2023, and began the year by advancing to a final in Adelaide as a qualifier, defeating Daria Kasatkina, Victoria Azarenka, and Ons Jabeur. This is her first WTA 1000 event, and she eliminated Amanda Anisimova in the last round.
Neither player has a dropped a set to this stage. Noskova’s backhand is her biggest weapon, and like many of her fellow Czech players, she possesses plenty of variety in her game. An upset over Gauff on Sunday would not be shocking, but Coco should still be favored based on her experience, as well as her consistent play throughout the past year.
Petra Kvitova (15) vs. Jelena Ostapenko (24) – Not Before 6:00pm on Stadium 2
As beautiful as Indian Wells is, it has never been Kvitova’s best event. She’s only 16-11 here lifetime, never advanced beyond the quarterfinals. The slower conditions are not optimal for her game. Petra is 9-4 in 2023, and performed very well at the last WTA 1000 event in the US, as she was the runner-up this past August in Cincinnati.
Ostapenko’s results in tennis paradise have also been underwhelming. She’s 8-5 lifetime, but she did reach the semifinals here during the 2021 tournament held in the fall. Jelena is 10-6 this year, and was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open.
Their rivalry has been a tight one, which Kvitova currently leads 5-4. They split two meetings last season. In Dubai on a hard court, Ostapenko prevailed in a third-set tiebreak. In Eastbourne on grass, Kvitova prevailed in straights. On this day, I give Ostapenko the ever-slight edge to even their head-to-head based on her recent Australian Open form.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Cristian Garin (Q) vs. Casper Ruud (3) – Garin was a top 20 player just 18 months ago, but is now barely ranked inside the top 100 after going 18-23 in 2022. Ruud is a modest 4-4 to begin 2023. Garin is 2-1 against Ruud, though Casper claimed their only hard court meeting.
Maria Sakkari (7) vs. Anhelina Kalinina (27) – Sakkari was the runner-up here a year ago, and on Friday earned her first victory over Shelby Rogers in four tries. Last June in Eastbourne, Kalinina defeated Sakkari 6-4 in the third.
Anastasia Potapova (26) vs. Jessica Pegula (3) – Potapova won a hard court title in Linz last month. Pegula is 14-4 thus far in 2023, and she’s 2-0 against Potapova.
Karolina Pliskova (17) vs. Veronika Kudermetova (11) – Pliskova is a strong 20-8 at Indian Wells, and reached the quarterfinals or better four straight years between 2016 and 2019. Kudermetova was a quarterfinalist here a year ago, and is 2-1 against Pliskova.
Daniil Medvedev (5) vs. Ilya Ivashka – Medvedev has gotten his mojo back, as he’s now on a 15-match winning streak. Ilya arrived at Indian Wells on a nine-match losing streak, and he is 0-6 against Medvedev at all levels.
Lesia Tsurenko (Q) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Sabalenka is 14-1 this year, and dropped just two games in her opening match this week. She is 1-1 against Tsurenko, though she defeated Lesia when they met at Indian Wells four years ago.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.
