The seeds come out to play on Friday in the women’s draw with Agnieszka Radwanska, Victoria Azarenka and Jelena Jankovic all in action.  There were some snapping streak wins on Thursday with Francesca Schiavone and Donna Vekic both recording their first wins of 2014.  Can Vinci follow suit? Indian Wells and Miami have always been criticised for their lack of TV coverage in the first week; however 2014 has seen a rather marvellous change-up with live coverage across four different courts from now!

1. Roberta Vinci v Madison Keys (WTA IW, R2)

Roberta Vinci

Could this be seventh time lucky for Roberta Vinci? The crafty Italian has lost all six singles matches she has played in 2014, winning just two sets all year against Ana Konjuh in Auckland and against Elina Svitolina in Paris.  Vinci has drawn a few stinkers this year and Indian Wells hasn’t exactly been any kinder.  Madison Keys awaits, which is definitely one of the tougher second round opponents for the seeds.  Keys is coming into this match following a very nice win indeed, losing just three games against the Sydney champion, Tsvetana Pironkova.  One thing going in Vinci’s favour is that she does have a win over Keys, a 6-3 6-3 victory in Cincinnati in 2012.  Keys though has matured a great deal in the last year.  Confidence is a real crux in tennis and Vinci obviously has very little of that right now.  I hope Roberta can turn her form around soon because she’s a lovely player to watch in full flow;  however Madison is the clear favourite in this match-up and should take advantage of the opening in her draw.

Prediction: Keys d. Vinci in 2 tight sets

2. Eugenie Bouchard v Peng Shuai (WTA IW, R2)

One match that caught my eye for Friday was the second round match between Eugenie Bouchard and Peng Shuai.  Peng was first up on the Stadium 1 on Wednesday and prevailed in a grinding battle with Vera Zvonareva, 4-6 6-0 7-5.  Zvonareva is still recovering her match fitness after a year off the tour, but this was a solid win for Peng who had lost seven of her eight previous matches with Zvonareva.  Bouchard has become the WTA’s new darling after breaking through at the Australian Open.  Her results since then have been unspectacular with losses to Bethanie Mattek-Sands (R1 in Doha), Annika Beck (QR3 in Dubai) and Caroline Garcia (QF in Acapulco).  Bouchard and Peng are similar players, both very consistent from the back of the court with attackable serves.  I believe this will be a very tight match; when fully fit, Peng is a very capable player as she proved in reaching the final of Shenzhen at the start of the year and she will be a very significant obstacle for Genie to overcome.

Prediction: Peng d. Bouchard in 3 sets

3. Caroline Wozniacki v Bojana Jovanovski (WTA IW, R2)

Caroline Wozniacki enjoyed her fair share of trials and tribulations at the hands of Bojana Jovanovski in 2013.  The Dane, who could face a significant fall in the rankings with an early exit in the desert, lost back-to-back matches to Jovanovski in Rome and Paris last year.  She did manage to recover some pride with a three set victory over Jovanovski in Luxembourg at the back end of 2013.  However the head-to-head implies this will be a very tough opener for Wozniacki, who despite reaching the semi-finals in Dubai, has played little tennis this year and appears to be lacking confidence.  Jovanovski has had a poor year so far, but did manage a good win over Alison Riske in the first round.  Her game is not one that contains much depth although when she’s hitting well, she is highly competent.  Wozniacki will be tested, but should survive.

Prediction: Wozniacki d. Jovanovski in 3 sets

Indian Wells 2nd Round Predictions

Simona Halep d. Kurumi Nara in 3 sets

Lucie Safarova d. Yanina Wickmayer in 3 sets

Sara Errani d. Sharon Fichman in 2 sets

Kirsten Flipkens d. Casey Dellacqua in 3 sets

Victoria Azarenka d. Lauren Davis in 2 sets

Jelena Jankovic d. Yvonne Meusburger in 2 sets

Shelby Rogers d. Magdalena Rybarikova in 2 sets

Kaia Kanepi d. Yaroslava Shvedova in 2 tight sets

Carla Suarez Navarro d. Kristina Mladenovic in 2 tight sets

Alize Cornet d. Silvia Soler-Espinosa in 2 sets

Annika Beck d. Elena Vesnina in 2 sets

Agnieskza Radwanska d. Heather Watson in 2 sets