10 thoughts about the women’s draw at Indian Wells
Busted Racquet's quick-hit thoughts on the WTA draw at Indian Wells, the so-called "fifth major." We looked at the draw this afternoon and this is our stream of consciousness.
• Victoria Azarenka's quarter looks favorable. The highest seed is Agnieszka Radwanska, who she's defeated three times already this season. Other seeds include Jelena Jankovic, Julia Georges and Svetlana Kuznetsova. In other words, expect Vika in the semis.
• Christina McHale sneaks in as the No. 32 seed and gets the first-round bye. Her reward if she wins her opening match: Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
• In a battle of the siblings, Urszula Radwanska and Michaella Krajicek will play in the first round.
• Possible All-Chinese battle in the third round between Li Na and Zheng Jie.
• Kvitova's draw is a bit tougher than Azarenka. She could see either Anastasia Pavluychenkova or Angelique Kerber in the fourth and Li Na in the quarters. Still, odds of a Kvitova-Azarenka semifinal (a rematch of last year's Wimbledon semi) are strong.
• The Caroline Wozniacki quarter is the toss-up. Marion Bartoli, Francesca Schiavone, Ana Ivanovic, Shahar Peer, Shuai Peng -- take your pick.
• Seems like a long time ago that Bethanie Mattek-Sands had Radwanska on the ropes at the Australian Open and even longer that she was the top-ranked American player, doesn't it?
• Maria Sharapova managed to avoid Rory McIlroy on her side of the draw, which should bring a sigh of relief. She'll likely have to contend with Dominka Cibulkova and either Sam Stosur, Maria Kirilenko or Sabine Lisicki in order to advance to the semis.
• As Ben Rothenberg noted earlier on Twitter, Wozniacki, the defending Indian Wells champion, will have to make at least the semifinals next week or else see her ranking fall to at least No. 6.
• Predictions: Radwanska vs. Kvitova, Ivanovic vs. Sharapova; Sharapova over Radwanska in final.
