Marketa Vondrousova vs Marie Bouzkova Prediction & Betting Tips - WTA Indian Wells

Prediction published on 10/03/2023, 06:45  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 10/03/2023 at 09:47 in Tennis Predictions

28th seeded Marie Bouzkova takes on unseeded Marketa Vondrousova in the Indian Wells second round. The winner of this all-Czech clash will face either fourth seeded Ons Jabeur or Lucky Loser Magda Frech in round three. Bouzkova began this WTA 1000 event ranked 32nd which is eight places lower than at the start of the year. The Czech is down to 36th in the live rankings as she's defending the points earned when reaching the third round here in 2022. Bouzkova received a bye into the second round but now faces a tough opponent in Vondrousova. It's not been the best of years for her so far. It's March and Bouzkova is yet to win two main draw matches in a tournament. The only time she has won two matches in an event was when winning a couple of qualifying matches in Qatar before losing to Rebecca Marino in the final qualifying round. Her best this year is getting to the last 16 in the Hobart International held in January, though only one win was needed to get that far. Her most recent tournament was in Monterrey losing her first match to Ana Karolina Schmeidlova who was ranked 100th at that time.

Marketa Vondrousova began this Indian Wells tournament ranked 105th but 118th in the live rankings. Last year Vondrousova reached the fourth round here so there's a lot of ranking points to defend. Vondrousova is far better than her ranking. The Czech has been as high as 19th in the rankings but slipped down the list after time off court due to injury. 2023 has fared better for her than Bouzkova. Vondrousova has reached the last four in Linz and the quarter finals in the Adelaide International in January.  The Australian Open saw her beat Ons Jabeur (her likely second round opponent here) before losing  a three-setter to Linda Fruhvirtova. Vondrousova had a comfortable 6-2 6-2 win over Rebecca Marino in round one and can be backed to beat Bouzkova.