The 2015 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells officially kicks off on Wednesday with the start of the WTA main draw. In what is a very brave and bold decision, Serena Williams has decided to return to the desert for the first time in 14 years. It certainly puts Indian Wells above Miami for the women this year although there have been some high profile withdrawals with Petra Kvitova and Dominika Cibulkova both missing from the main draw. I always remember the start of Indian Wells where it feels like every tennis fan on Twitter is at the tournament! Despite my insane jealousy, it’s great seeing so many fan pictures and i’ll try and link to some of the best over the next week and a bit. Note that the top 32 seeds all have byes into the second round. Let’s take a sweeeeeping look at the draw.
Serena Williams heads the draw and it’s a little befuddling! Taking a step back from the draw, it looks pretty dreamy on paper for Serena. Her first match of the week against either Aleksandra Krunic or Monica Niculescu will be intriguing nonetheless. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Angelique Kerber are the highest seeds in Serena’s eighth and both will be looking to kickstart their seasons after disappointing form stretching back to Melbourne; Kuznetsova’s only win this year the WTA tour came via a retirement, while Kerber’s only WTA main draw win since Sydney was against Kuznetsova. Ekaterina Makarova is joined by Lucie Safarova, Timea Bacsinszky and Elina Svitolina in her eighth. Makarova could meet the Acapulco and Monterrey champion, Bacsinszky in the third round although the Swiss player could be fatigued after four of her five matches in Monterrey were three setters. Safarova is coming in off the back of her biggest career title to date in Doha. Rob should be joining her in Indian Wells so confidence should be high. She will play either Mona Barthel or Kristina Mladenovic in the second round, which has the potential to be a sticky opener.
The second quarter features last year’s semi-finalists, Agnieszka Radwanska and Simona Halep. There had been rumours that Halep may withdraw from the tournament due to a family tragedy, but there have been no announcements today. Some of the Romanian fans on Twitter implied that the Romanian media aren’t always to be trusted. On paper, Radwanska shouldn’t have too many concerns about her second round match against Mirjana Lucic-Baroni or Alison Riske. The same cannot be said for her third rounder… step forward, Camila Giorgi. The Italian firecracker, who knocked Maria Sharapova out of Indian Wells last year, could be a very interesting match-up for Aga, if the pair were to meet. The one big talking point from Halep’s eighth is a potential third rounder between Garbine Muguruza and Karolina Pliskova. I’m gutted the pair have landed in each other’s sections because I feel they could both do some damage in this draw. I’m intrigued to see how both players do this week, particularly Pliskova who went on a tear after Melbourne. If seedings all hold (neverrrr gonna happen), Halep would meet Muguruza or Pliskova in the fourth round.
Wozniacki is in the third section and could meet the dangerous floater, Kaia Kanepi in the second round. The Estonian hasn’t played since Dubai when she was forced to retire from her first round match. Eugenie Bouchard and Madison Keys are both present in this section and are playing their first tournaments for quite a while; Bouchard lost early in Antwerp and then pulled out of Dubai and Acapulco, while Keys hasn’t played since a breakthrough Grand Slam in Melbourne. As both come in cold, they will be vulnerable. Bouchard’s draw looks favourable to begin with, but it’s likely to ramp up quickly enough that if she isn’t playing well, she won’t survive. Keys will open against the winner of a coin toss of a first round match between Daniela Hantuchova and Klara Koukalova. The first seed that Keys could meet is Jelena Jankovic. This is a good draw as JJ still hasn’t found her feet this year after an off-season that was derailed by a serious back injury. Finally, this draw could throw up a third round match between Alize Cornet and Andrea Petkovic…. Or it could quite conceivably be Petra Cetkovska against Annika Beck! That’s probably a better alternative because i’m still having nightmares from that Petkovic v Cornet match from Paris last year.
The final quarter is where the excitement is as the number two seed, Maria Sharapova could play Victoria Azarenka in the third round. Vika has had an excellent start to the year and looks to be in a great place right now with a new team featuring Wim Fissette and Serena’s former hitting partner, Sascha Bajin. I’m not going to discuss the Maria-Vika match-up unless it does become reality, but that has the potential to be a real blockbuster. Last year’s champion, Flavia Pennetta is projected to meet Sharapova in the fourth round. It feels like damage control for Flavia in terms of ranking points, but her draw is respectable up to Maria. The first seed she could meet is Sam Stosur, who is one of her pigeons (5-0 H2H lead). The other top eight seed in this section is Ana Ivanovic, who could be in line for a Monterrey rematch with Caroline Garcia in the third round. If that happens, it would tell us more about Ana’s form going forward and perhaps, Caroline too. Sabine Lisicki and Sara Errani are also present in this section and will be vulnerable. If anyone could sweep up, it could Jarmila Gajdosova. The Aussie opens against Roberta Vinci and could meet Lisicki in round two.
Quarter-final predictions: S.Williams v Safarova, Halep v Radwanska, Petkovic v Wozniacki and Ivanovic v Azarenka
Final prediction: S.Williams d. Azarenka
Moo's Tennis Blog 
Please predict for all the first round matches.
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Wow! You really think Vika will beat Maria? I have a feeling it will be close but Maria has played pretty well all year and only Serena has been able to beat her. I also this Vika is still on the comeback trail and not ready to beat a power player like Maria or Serena.
You seem to have a lot of a Halep fans reading your blog or at least they are taking over the polls at least.
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It may be too early for Vika, but I am feeling very positive about her right now. I’m definitely buying into her new team and was very impressed with how she played in Doha. I really hope we get to see that match as should be a very interesting watch!
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Halep is the “all or nothing” type of player, unfortunately. When she is in good shape she could beat even Serena aswell as losing to practically anybody on a bad day.
A middle of the road approach of the game has she not yet acquired. She needs to mature or level up to meet the expectations on a regular basis.
Now she had lost a cousin these days thus could lead to a extra bump from adrenaline or perhaps to sadness and unwillingness. Time will tell.
The knife cuts both ways.
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Halep did not beat Serena, Serena lost. Halep is a very consistent player, she is not going to lose to “anybody”. Her fitness is the only concern for me.
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I will pick Maria over Vika. This match needs mute or ear plugs. When Vika is losing she always limps , hops or stretching her body. She’s lucky to get a bye. Vika needs to play small tournaments , she acts like she is to good. Serena needs to win this title or her return will be pointless and she would be making a fool of herself. Glad Venus sit this one out.
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This and the screeching are why I don’t tend to watch Azarenka play. But as a player she’s MUCH stronger than Sharapova in almost every department except mental fortitude. I’d favour Vika to win here though because she’s the underdog and she loves that position.
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I’m surprised that so many are backing Halep here what with Serena playing. She has a 17-1 win record here and is bound to be determined to bludgeon the other players. I think Pliskova or Muguruza will best Halep. And I disagree that Halep can beat Serena when they are both on form. When Serena is at her best, Halep can barely keep up with her.
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hai simona
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I played through the WTA DRAW game and somehow ended up with a Safarova v Keys final….wouldnt that be something!
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I get the feeling Keys is going to have a few months of struggling with the hype and exposure she got after Australia. She’s also yet to show any ability to play a B game when she isn’t completely firing.
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Very intrigued to see how Keys copes with the added expectation and whether she can back it up. She didn’t do a great job at backing up her win in Eastbourne last year, but hopefully this year will be different.
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Haha love this! That would be something. I’m not sure about Madison for this week coming in cold since AO. Good draw though…
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Wow Simona rocked the votings!!
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Yes, the poll has gone supersonic with support from Halep fans. I knew there were quite a few who read my blog, but i’m baffled by the numbers!
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I think both Ivanovic and Bouchard have the easiest draw leading to the quarterfinals. So they both should make the quarterfinals. Bouchard however this year hasnt been playing well, she can pile unforced errors like anything (as I have always said, she needs refinement and patience in her game, mentally she is great).
Williams independent of the draw is always the predicted winner for me, however, because she will be playing Indian Wells after such a long time, I am not sure if she will be okay past quarterfinals. Safarova may beat her if Williams is mentally absent. Every year Williams is mentally absent in 2-3 matches and loses to whoever. I am still waiting for her first such match.
I like Barthel and I have seen her game, she is very good, her results however hardly reflect that. I am happy that Makarova is not in Sharapova’s draw, Makarova is an excellent player but when facing Sharapova her confidence is abysmal.
Radwanska, her game and confidence is no where what it used to be like two years ago. In my opinion, if she clears her first two matches (Lucic and Giorgi) then I think she will reach the semifinals, but she has to clear those first two matches which in my opinion are going to be very hard. She will have a tough time against Lucic for sure.
This is my prediction:
Semifinals: Williams beats Radwanska and Sharapova beats Wozniacki or Keys.
Finals: Williams beats Sharapova
If Williams doesnt get to finals, then I am going with Sharapova as the champion.
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I don’t think Ivanovic has it that easy. Caroline Garcia is on a bit of a roll. She beat Ana last week despite Ivanovic not actually doing anything wrong… Garcia just has a bigger game when she gets it going.
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Woah, 553 votes for Halep. Romania has definitely found Moo’s Tennis Blog!
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Wow James, I told you that the Romanians are in love by your blog 🙂 Keep doing this great work 🙂
My predictions are:
QF: Serena vs Lucie, Simona vs Carla, Andrea vs Madison, C. Garcia vs Vika
SF: Lucie vs Simona, Madison vs Vika
F: Simona vs Madison
W Simona, of course 🙂
#GameHalep all the way
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I have heard people saying that Serena will desperately want to win this, she will be under mental pressure because she is coming here after a very long time and if she loses then she will feel embarrassed. In my opinion she has 19 singles grand slam titles, as far as tennis is concerned there is absolutely nothing that should embarrass her. Serena getting embarrassed because of her tennis doesnt make sense to me, even if she loses first round here, she shouldnt feel embarrassed, disappointed yes, embarrassed no.
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That’s just how Serena is though and its WHY she has 19 Slams. She doesn’t want to lose anything to anybody ever. I don’t think any woman has ever wanted to win as much as she does.
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