Coco Gauff vs Maria Sakkari Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Indian Wells

Prediction published on 15/03/2024, 02:11  by Daniel Ngulu | Modified on 15/03/2024 at 04:19 in Tennis Predictions

Third seed Cori Gauff and ninth seed Maria Sakkari will rekindle their rivalry with their upcoming semifinal showdown at Indian Wells. The winner will then play either Iga Swiatek or Marta Kostyuk for the title. Cori Gauff will tie this exciting series with Sakkari at 4-4 if she manages to come away with the win here. She has won the last two encounters between the two with both being played last season. One of her wins came in the final in Washington allowing her to win the second of four titles in 2023. Last year was her best-ever campaign as a professional and this season she has started with the same vigor. The American has won 16 of 19 matches thus far and has one title already wrapped up. Gauff triumphed in Auckland at the start of the year and was a semifinalist at the Australian Open. The world number three has set her best result in this event by advancing to this round. In her previous three appearances, she had been eliminated twice in the quarterfinals. Gauff, who has won her last three matches without dropping a set, defeated Yuan Yue by the loss of seven games in the last round.

Maria Sakkari has for the third season in a row made it to at least the semifinals in Coachella. She produced her best result two seasons ago with a runner-up finish and made the last four last season. Her pedigree in this event as well as her head-to-head advantage over Gauff should have her confident of advancing to the final. The Greek number one will however have to be at her absolute best considering that she has been lacklustre this season. Sakkari has won nine of 13 fixtures but before arriving at Indian Wells had not won successive games in her last four events. She had lost four times in six outings. Sakkari, who has needed to win a decider three times in her four matches here, defeated Emma Navarro in the quarterfinals. She battled from a set down to win against one of the in-form players in the circuit this season. The match lasted close to three hours. Advancing to this round has seen the 28-year-old move right back to ninth place in the live ranking. Three of Sakkari’s four wins over Gauff have been on hard courts. Her last win over Gauff came two seasons ago in Rome.