As I write this post, the final round of qualifying is in play at Indian Wells. The main draw is set to start on Wednesday. The tournament is normally a slow-starter with the seeds not starting until Friday; however, there are some blockbuster names on the comeback trail that will make this a must-watch from the first ball. The plan is to have two posts each day here on MTB with a snappy Set Points and sweeping day previews. The plan may crash and burn depending on work and time. I’m feeling energised for now… 😃😃😃
The draw
The draws for Indian Wells and Miami are always very difficult to break down because the 32 seeds all have byes into the second round and therefore, their first opponents are yet to be determined. I didn’t bother staying up for the draw. I much prefer now seeing a complete draw all in one go rather than pulses of information on Twitter and constant repetition of the same information because people don’t know what a retweet button is 😂. The draw was the first thing I thought of when I woke up on Tuesday morning! The return of Serena, Vika and Sveta was an added bonus to what would already have been a stellar draw.
Muguruza’s section is a stunner
The stand-out section is at the top of the second quarter where Garbiñe Muguruza, Eugenie Bouchard, Naomi Osaka, Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwanska and a yet-to-be-determined qualifier are all located. The pick of the first rounders is without doubt, Sharapova vs. Osaka, and the only match-up that made me yelp when I scrolled through the draw.
My immediate instinct was Osaka takes this. On reflection, I think it is a decent match-up for Sharapova going up against another big hitter. The Russian player pulled out of Dubai with a forearm injury so there are a few question marks around her health.
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Petra!
It is wonderful to see Petra back at Indian Wells and I loved her tweet yesterday! For pictures of Petra practising, click HERE.
My faves – rooting for Timea!
I’m sad that Lucie won’t be playing Indian Wells. On a positive note my second fave, Timea Bacsinszky, is set to play her second WTA tournament on the comeback from a serious hand injury. The Swiss player, who was practising on Monday (see pics below – you should go follow LaWanda on Twitter if you aren’t already!), will play Wang Qiang in the first round. Not easy at all but quietly optimistic!
Kasatkina teaches tweeners to Osaka
Dasha and Naomi are the best. Loved this! 😂
Moo's Tennis Blog 
Azarenka/Sabalenka IW dubs team……………bring your ear plugs!
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Love this team! And to play Bouchard-Stephens in R1. Popcorn match.
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Errani not playing in the big IW after winning the 125K IW? She did have a big wrap on her thigh.
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Yes a shame, would have been nice if the winner of the $125k got a WC into the main draw.
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Elina Svitolina slaying the tie break tens!
I see Keys being a potential spoiler in her draw on home soil at Indian Wells though.
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I’d be surprised if it’s not Svitolina-Keys in R4. I’ve gone for Elina to win it all but I think i’m going too much on recent form!
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In theory she should play well here, though her past results indicate otherwise.
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For those interested, the NYC Tie Break Tens match videos are on YouTube.
S Williams looked in much better shape than in the Fed Cup matches, and Svitolina did dominate all her opponents.
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With so many returning and current players showing up at this tourney, Indian Wells feels like it may eclipse Miami this year. The buzz on the grounds must be ‘tingly’.
Very nice of Kasatkina to accept @wtainsider’s suggestion of tutoring Osaka. Good vibes! Hope it breaks Naomi out of her rigid shell. Needs to add a few ‘creases’ to her mental game, can’t be all supersonic all the time!
I don’t know how this tournament still manages to catch me off guard. Always seem to be having a busy week, forever missing the start of proceedings 😦 .
Does the Tie Break Tens offer ranking points or just some fun bragging rights and some ‘pocket money’ to prep for the US swing of the tour.
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Yes definitely, I remember the days when Miami was the showcase event of the two!
Osaka certainly seemed to show some mental fortitude in her win over Sharapova.
Tiebreak Tens is the latter.
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Aga made the final in 2014 but lost badly owing to a leg injury, so for sentimental reasons, and the fact that she needs to get her confidence back after a long bad run, I’m going for her to win it. (It was her birthday yesterday too; more cheesecake?).
IW’s a great tournament though, one of my favourites to watch and very well liked by the players too; it’s mostly warm and dry at this time of year so there’s virtually never any problematic weather as there is at other tournaments, and the facilities are first class because the tournament owner is a billionaire. Players and spectators are also quite close to each other, which the fans like.
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Tough match against Osaka tomorrow for Aga. I wondered if it was the Cheesecake Factory they were at… I saw the photo at dinner with Caro and Angie.
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What happens to Indian Wells when the current owner and tennis fan, who is 73y/o and founder of computer company Oracle, dies. It is doubtful that a corporation board of directors would continue to subsidize an event that does little for them.
They would need another billionaire to buy the event, but with the first class facilities are in place it wouldn’t cost that much to continue the tournament.
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