We take a look at selected fixtures from the WTA Tour's Indian Wells Open taking place at the Indian Wells, California on the 8th of March.
WTA Tour 2019
WTA Premier Mandatory
WTA Indian Wells Open
Indian Wells, California, United States (Outdoor Hardcourt)
8th March 2019
Victoria Azarenka (13/8) vs Serena Williams (1/2)
Victoria Azarenka’s travails have been extremely well documented. She has had huge injury concerns and a protracted, ugly custody battle that greatly scuppered her career. The two-time Slam winner reached the quarterfinals in Acapulco but has largely underwhelmed this year. But she is returning to an event that she has significant history in. Azarenka is a two-time Indian Wells champion. She also had by far her best performance last season in the other leg of the ‘Sunshine Double’: the Miami Open. The saddest aspect of proceedings is that Azarenka- at her best- was a great foil for Serena Williams. She beat her in four finals, including at the 2016 Indian Wells. And the Williams allusion is no coincidence, because the great American is her opponent this week.
Serena Williams is making her first appearance since that fairly benign exit in the quarterfinal at the Aussie Open. I was fairly surprised digging through the Indian Wells archives to discover that she has only won this title twice, the last title coming way back in 2001. For any other player that would be exceptional, but such has been the hegemony of the American, I was slightly taken aback. But second guessing the brilliant Williams would be a detriment to anyone. In Melbourne she was truly exceptional against Halep only to look really flat against Pliskova. She has still only lost one match this year and is always a force, regardless of form and court time.
This will amazingly be their 22nd meeting. Williams unsurprisingly leads the head-to-head 17-4. But in relation to other records, Azarenka actually fares fairly well. As I noted earlier, Azarenka has beaten Williams in four finals. Her best game is one of the few games that can go toe-to-toe with the American. But her form has been erratic, making Williams rather enticing as the 1/2 favorite.
Barbora Strycova (10/3) vs Simona Halep (2/9)
32 year-old Barbora Strycova is perhaps the forgotten woman of Czech tennis. Whilst the likes of Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova have become household names, this solid baseliner has largely operated below the radar. She has focused more on doubles recently, though to underestimate her would be naïve. She has reached as high as 16 in the single’s rankings. She actually won the double’s title here last season, which means that this court should hold some positive juju for her. She has been in four WTA finals during her career. She has enjoyed a fairly sub-par year thus far, with a quarterfinal appearance in Doha. But she is certainly the type of player who thrives on surprising the big names.
Simona Halep has enjoyed a fairly tame season thus far: she is yet to capture a WTA title this year. Her appearance in the Doha final was a close thing. Her heartbreaking three-set slugfest against Serena in Melbourne must have taken something out of the Romanian psychologically. Halep was the champion here back in 2015, so she should feel right at home this week. Halep seems to be struggling for rhythm recently. It’s as if the meteoric rise to prominence of Naomi Osaka has stolen her thunder in the quest to usurp Serena Williams’ utter dominance of the sport.
This will be their 5th meeting, with Halep clearly holding the edge at 4-1. In reality, Strycova hasn’t been close to Halep, not claiming a set since her one and only victory way back in 2010. So the signs for the Czech are slightly grim. Yet still, there’s always the lingering impression that Halep is fallible against the so-called ‘lesser’ players. I think the plucky Strycova could be worth a shout at 10/3.
Written by Damien Kayat for Hollywoodbets.
from Hollywoodbets Sports Blog https://ift.tt/2NOrkQu
best mesothelioma law firms, mesothelioma attorneys, mesothelioma
lawyer, mesothelioma lawsuits, mesothelioma lawyers, mesothelioma
lawsuit, mesothelioma attorney, mesothelioma settlement, mesothelioma
lawsuit settlements, mesothelioma settlements, mesothelioma law firm,
lawyer mesothelioma, get a online mesothelioma law firm today,
mesothelioma claims, mesothelioma claim, malignant mesothelioma,
mesothelioma law, mesothelioma law firm california, mesothelioma
compensation, mesothelioma law firms, asbestos settlement, asbestos
claim, mesothelioma, asbestos lawsuit, asbestos lung cancer,
mesothelioma law suit, asbestos claims720, asbestos attorney,
mesothelioma lung cancer, mesothelioma causes, asbestos lawyer390,
mesothelioma cancer, asbestos lawsuits, asbestos lawyers, causes of
mesothelioma, asbestos cancer, mesothelioma law suits, what is
mesothelioma, law offices, mesothelioma symptoms
Terimakasih anda telah membaca artikel tentang WTA Tour 2019: Indian Wells Open Selected Fixtures Preview. Jika ingin menduplikasi artikel ini diharapkan anda untuk mencantumkan link https://viralsport.blogspot.com/2019/03/wta-tour-2019-indian-wells-open.html. Terimakasih atas perhatiannya.