Indian Wells 2022: Iga Swiatek vs Angelique Kerber preview, head-to-head and prediction | BNP Paribas Open

Match Details

Fixture: (3) Iga Swiatek vs (15) Angelique Kerber

Date: 15 March 2022

Tournament: BNP Paribas Open

Round: Fourth (Round of 16)

Venue: Indian Wells, California, USA

Category: WTA 1000

Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt

Prize money: $8,369,455

Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - Amazon Prime Video

Iga Swiatek vs Angelique Kerber preview

Iga Swiatek has been in good form lately

Third seed Iga Swiatek will square off against 15th seed Angelique Kerber in the fourth round of the Indian Wells Open on Tuesday.

The Pole started the 2022 season by reaching the semifinals of the Adelaide International before losing to Ashleigh Barty. She followed this up with another semi-final run at the Australian Open, where she was beaten by Danielle Collins.

Swiatek then suffered a second-round exit at the Dubai Tennis Championships before entering the Qatar Open. The 20-year-old fought off a strong challenge from Viktorija Golubic before registering straight-sets wins over Daria Kasatkina, Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sakkari to reach the final. She thrashed Anett Kontaveit 6-2, 6-0 in the summit clash to win her second WTA 1000 title.

Swiatek is seeded third at the Indian Wells Open and reached the fourth round after beating Anhelina Kalinina and Clara Tauson. In both matches, she fought back from a set down.

Kerber, on the other hand, had a disappointing start to the season, suffering opening-round exits at the Australian Open and the Qatar Open.

The German notched up her first win in 2022 by defeating Qinwen Zheng in three sets in her Indian Wells opener. Kerber then cruised into the fourth round after beating Daria Kasatkina 6-2, 6-1.

Iga Swiatek vs Angelique Kerber head-to-head

Tuesday's match at Indian Wells will be the first meeting between Swiatek and Kerber, so the head-to-head currently stands at 0-0. The winner will take on either Harriet Dart or Madison Keys in the quarterfinals.

Iga Swiatek vs Angelique Kerber prediction

Swiatek will be heavily favored to win the match given her current run of form, although Kerber should not be written off. The German has had a shaky start to the 2022 season but is gradually finding her rhythm.

Swiatek's favorite surface is clay, but she has fared extremely well on hardcourt this year, winning 16 out of 19 matches, including a WTA 1000 title in Qatar. The Pole will rely on her powerful groundstrokes and aggressive baseline game to trouble the veteran.

Kerber will no doubt resort to counterpunching. The German does not possess the best serve but makes up for it with her footwork and well-placed groundstrokes.

The former World No. 1 seems to be getting better as the season progresses and will undoubtedly put up a fight against Swiatek. However, the Pole has far too much firepower at her disposal and should be able to seal her berth in the quarterfinals.

Prediction: Swiatek to win in three sets

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