In a scheduling change starting this year, all eight ATP and WTA singles quarterfinals will be played on the same day in Indian Wells.
The ATP quarterfinals feature three of the top four men in the world. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz plays a man who owns a winning record against him, Sascha Zverev. Australian Open champ Jannik Sinner, who is an undefeated 15-0 to start the year, squares off against Jiri Lehecka, who upset Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last two rounds. And last year’s runner-up, Daniil Medvedev, plays Holger Rune, who eliminated 2022 champ Taylor Fritz on Wednesday evening.
The WTA quarterfinals are headlined by 2022 champion Iga Swiatek facing 2011 champion Caroline Wozniacki. Plus, a day after celebrating her 20th birthday, reigning US Open champ Coco Gauff takes on the red-hot Yue Yuan, who is currently on a nine-match winning streak.
This preview will analyze the two most prominent matches of the day, while taking note of the other singles quarterfinals. Thursday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (WC) – Second on Stadium 1
Swiatek is 17-2 this year, having won The United Cup team event to start the season, and claiming the title in Doha as well. She has been dominant here through three rounds, not dropping a set and losing only 10 games. Iga is looking to reach the Indian Wells semifinals for the third consecutive year.
Wozniacki is now 9-6 since her unretirement last summer, with this being the first quarterfinal of her comeback. She took out the 25th seed, Donna Vekic, as well as three-time Major champ Angelique Kerber, to achieve this quarterfinal. Caroline is a four-time semifinalist in the desert, having advanced to that round in three of her last four appearances.
Their only prior encounter occurred five years ago in Toronto, where a young and inexperienced Iga upset Caroline 6-4 in the third. But on Thursday, a Swiatek victory would be anything but an upset. She has separated herself from most of the field these last few seasons, and the slower-playing courts in Indian Wells are much to her liking.
Carlos Alcaraz (2) vs. Sascha Zverev (6) – Not Before 3:00pm on Stadium 1
Zverev leads their head-to-head 5-3 overall, and 4-1 on hard courts. The only Alcaraz victory on this surface came six months ago in the US Open quarterfinals, with Carlitos winning in straights. More recently, Sascha was victorious in tight matches at both the ATP Finals and the Australian Open.
Alcaraz has not been the same player since losing the epic final in Cincinnati last August to Novak Djokovic. Since then, he’s yet to return to a tournament final, and as per Tennis Abstract, has gone just 3-5 against top 10 opposition. But the defending champion has looked sharp this fortnight, and is vying for his third straight semifinal in tennis paradise.
Zverev continues to play amidst lingering domestic abuse allegations, the latest of which he is scheduled to stand trial for in May. He is 14-4 on the year, after coming from a set down in the last round against Alex de Minaur. However, despite Sascha’s recent success against Carlitos, I give Alcaraz the slight advantage on this day. The Spaniard seems to love playing in the desert, while the German has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals at this event, with a record of just 10-7 ahead of this year’s tournament.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Anastasia Potapova (28) vs. Marta Kostyuk (31) – Both 22-year-old Potapova and 21-year-old Kostyuk are playing for their first WTA 1000 semifinal. Potapova is 2-0 against Kostyuk, with both wins occurring last season, though Marta is coming off her Major quarterfinal debut in Melbourne.
Jiri Lehecka (32) vs. Jannik Sinner (3) – Sinner has not dropped a set to this stage, and he’s clearly been the ATP’s best player of the last six months. Lehecka has been mightily impressive this past week, with his victories over Rublev and Tsitsipas both coming in straight sets. They have never met at tour level.
Tommy Paul (17) vs. Casper Ruud (9) – Ruud survived a tough three-setter against Gael Monfils on Wednesday, while Paul comfortably dispatched of the lucky loser who upset Djokovic earlier this week, Luca Nardi. Casper is 3-1 against Tommy, though all of their contests have been long, drawn-out affairs.
Yue Yuan vs. Coco Gauff (3) – Gauff had a shaky start to this fortnight, but has recovered nicely, dominating Elise Mertens on Wednesday by a score of 6-0, 6-2. Yue won her first WTA title just a few weeks ago in Dallas, and has already defeated two top 12 players during this event. This is their first career meeting.
Daniil Medvedev (4) vs. Holger Rune (7) – Daniil Holger saved a match point in a come-from-behind victory in the last round against Taylor Fritz. Medvedev is 12-2 on the year, while Rune is 12-5. Their head-to-head is even at 1-1, after playing twice last season on clay.
Maria Sakkari (9) vs. Emma Navarro (23) – Navarro earned the biggest win of her career on Wednesday, ousting second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka. Emma is projected to debut inside the top 20 next week, and leads the WTA with 18 match wins this season. This is a third consecutive quarterfinal appearance in Indian Wells for Sakkari, who is now working with David Witt, former coach of Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula. They have split two previous meetings, with Maria prevailing just a few weeks ago in Dubai.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
