Iga Swiatek vs Maria Sakkari Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Indian Wells

Prediction published on 16/03/2024, 05:01  by Daniel Ngulu in Tennis Predictions

Top seed Iga Swiatek and ninth seed Maria Sakkari are set to contest another Indian Wells Open final. The two battled in the championship match of this very tournament in 2022 with Swiatek ending up victorious. Iga Swiatek is seeking to become the 10th women’s athlete to win this WTA 1000 event for a second time. With how dominant she has been in her run to the final, the Pole is highly favoured to emerge champion. Swiatek, who has compiled a 19-2 record so far in 2024, has won all her five rounds here without dropping a set. She defeated Marta Kostyuk by the loss of just three games in the semifinals. The world number one has advanced to her second final of the year and her 10th at 1000 level. An 18-time tour champion, Swiatek has won seven of the previous nine WTA 1000 finals she has contested. She has also won her last five tour finals. Swiatek has defeated Sakkari the last two times they have faced off.

Maria Sakkari had won the first three meetings with Swiatek before her rise to the summit of the women’s game. She will hope to turn the tide again back to her favour as she seeks only her third tour crown. The Greek number one has struggled in her career in tour finals. She has been defeated seven times in the previous nine finals she has contested and two of those have been 1000 events. Sakkari started the season poorly and lost four times in her first nine matches. She arrived in Coachella having managed just one win in her last five outings. But returning to a tournament she has excelled in in the past has sparked a season turn around. She has now taken her record to 10-4 and has moved back to ninth in the live ranking. A win here will propel her up to sixth in the world. Sakkari got the better of third seed Cori Gauff in three sets in the semifinals. It was the fourth time in the competition she had been forced to win a decider in order to progress.