The highlight of Monday’s order of play was the all Willliams clash at night in the desert. There’s a few highlights from that match later on in the post but Monday’s Set Points, as usual, focuses on the matches from the day session and those that I got to watch live. As is tradition with Indian Wells, all eight fourth round matches will be played on Tuesday. Buckle up! Read on for 10 stories from Monday at the BNP Paribas Open.
Garcia snaps the losing streak against Gavrilova
Caroline Garcia headed into her third round clash against Daria Gavrilova having never beaten the Aussie in five attempts. Garcia finally snapped the streak and raised her arms in celebration at the end with a hard fought 7-5 6-4 victory. I can’t say I really enjoyed this one – the court seemed sooo slow!
Garcia handled Gavrilova’s top spin and loopy balls pretty well and always looked to be positive, stepping into the court and dictating with the forehand. Garcia’s not found her 2017 end-of-season form yet but her base level has improved significantly and she’s been consistently scoring wins on the tour.
For Gavrilova, the double faults at crucial stages of the match has really become a thing and hurt her badly in the first set. I feel like Daria is battling herself at the moment and can play much better. Confidence is massive and I sense it’s not there right now.
Kerber takes out the defending champ
In 2017 Elena Vesnina defeated Angelique Kerber on Stadium 2 court at Indian Wells, 6-3 6-3. One year on and playing on the same court, Kerber turned the tables with a 7-5 6-2 third round victory. The first set was a wild and wacky affair. From 4-0 to 4-5 to 7-5, Kerber eventually prevailed on her fourth set point. The key game was at 5-5 where Kerber saved three break points, all with forehand winners, and then held with back-to-back aces! Aside from a rushed attempt at serving out the match, Kerber was superb in the second set. It was a tough draw for Vesnina and I think she played some fine tennis at times – a couple of glorious backhands! All in all, an entertaining match.
Fab photo of Angie linked below by Jimmie48 📸.
Kasatkina sets up R4 showdown with Wozniacki
Daria Kasatkina defeated Sloane Stephens in straight sets, 6-4 6-3, to set up a last 16 match with the world number two, Caroline Wozniacki. I stayed up for the first set where Dasha started really well. She lost her way in trying to close out the set which she did on her second attempt. I’m encouraged by how well Dasha is hitting the ball and she seems to be playing with much more belief after her run in Dubai. Kasatkina won her last match against Wozniacki, 7-6(2) 6-3 in St. Petersburg earlier this year and I think the conditions at Indian Wells suit her game perfectly. A great opportunity to go deeper in the draw…
While I was sleeping…
Carla Suárez Navarro knocked out the number four seed, Elina Svitolina, 7-5 6-3. I was shocked by this result – what a huge win for Carla! The Spaniard will play American wildcard, Danielle Collins in the fourth round.
Serena-Venus
The big match was the all-Williams clash at night where Venus won, 6-3 6-4 in one hour and 26 minutes. Venus gets Anastasija Sevastova in the fourth round which could be a tricky one.
Venus’s post-match interview
Liked this! Venus’s response when Andrew Krasny mentioned her age was amusing.
Get to know Julia Goerges
Enjoyed this video posted by Reem Abulleil for Sport360.
Victoria Azarenka in press
Azarenka was clearly disappointed after her second round loss to Sloane Stephens. She reiterated her intention to play Miami next week.
Amanda Anisimova in press
Anisimova has been impressive both on and off the court. Listen to her press conference after beating Petra Kvitova in the third round – so mature for 16!
Tuesday’s preview of fourth round matches
A preview of fourth round matches including Pliskova-Anisimova, Osaka-Sakkari and Kerber-Garcia is up on the blog.
Moo's Tennis Blog 