'Stosur has spent more time on court this week, played more sets, and, whilst still winning, has had to come from behind a number of times. Given the head-to-head record Stosur usually would be favourite, but I think Kerber will take her the distance tonight'
It's the last two Women's Quarter finals tonight; Kerber versus Stosur in what should be a tight affair and that's followed by two former champions facing off as Azarenka takes on Wozniacki.
First up we have German Angelique Kerber against Australian Sam Stosur. Kerber came into this tournament on the back of two first round losses in a row. This minor drop in form can however be put down to a back strain which came to light at the Australian Open when she was put to the sword by Ekatarina Makarova. To anybody who saw that match it was clear she was not fit but she appears to have got over this now, her three victories at Indian Wells so far show she's back to the level we all expect of her.
Stosur and Kerber have met twice before with Stosur winning each time. To Kerber's credit both matches have been competitive, and I see no reason why it won't be the same tonight. Kerber is an exciting player who is not afraid to go for her shots; she has a wicked forehand and is able to chase down a lot of balls.
Stosur has spent more time on court this week, played more sets, and, whilst still winning, has had to come from behind a number of times. Given the head-to-head record Stosur usually would be favourite, but I think Kerber will take her the distance tonight. It's certainly worth a look at the Total Games Market for this one in what should be a highly entertaining match.
In the last Quarter Final match we see two players that have tasted success at Indian Wells before. It was exactly two years ago that Victoria Azarenka slumped to her fifth defeat in seven meetings with Caroline Wozniacki as the then world number one went on to take the Indian Wells title that year.
How the tables have turned since then! Now, Azarenka has two Grand Slam titles under her belt and is arguably the most consistent player on the Tour. She boasts a perfect 17 match winning record this year and very much justifies her pre-match price of 1.261/4.
Wozniacki on the other hand, troubled by a difficult relationship with her on-off coach and father Piotr, and burdened with the task of keeping a lid on media intrusion has seen her ranking slump outside the Top 10 for the first time in five years.
All that being said, it is Wozniacki who I like tonight. She made short work of Petrova in the previous round and in-form Russian Vesnina in the round before. Noted for her defence, Wozniacki has always possessed an uncanny ability to minimise mistakes. She hardly every serves a double-fault (something Azarenka cannot boast) and seldom hits the net. Moreover with Azarenka hampered by a troublesome ankle injury, this is a perfect opportunity for Wozniacki to re-start her 2013 campaign and redeem herself after an embarrassing loss to little known Qiang Wang two weeks ago.
Wozniacki was the darling of the WTA Tour and was world Number One long before Azarenka had even thought about winning a Grand Slam. She possesses too much ability for this to be an easy match for Azarenka and I think the +5.5 Games for Wozniacki tonight is the way to go.
Recommend Bets:
Back Caroline Wozniacki +5.5 Games vs Victoria Azarenka @ 1.768/11
Back Over 21.5 Games in Angelique Kerber vs Sam Stosur @ 1.814/5
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