Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) and Angelique Kerber (Germany), two former world’s number one, who recently returned from maternity leave, will face each other in the Round of 16 at the WTA 1000 Indian Wells Open tennis tournament with an prize money of 9.25 million USD.
In the evening session, the Danish tennis player defeated Katie Volynets (USA) by 2-1 (6:2, 4:6, 6:0) in 2:10 hours of play.
“It was a difficult match with many long plays and I am happy that I was able to win”, commented Caroline Wozniacki after the success.
Earlier, Angelique Kerber eliminated the 17th-seeded Veronika Kudermetova (Russia) after 2-0 (6:4, 7:5). Angelique Kerber needed one hour and 47 minutes to claim her second straight win over a Top 20 player after eliminating 10th-seeded Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia) in the previous round.
“This is certainly another important match for me, which gives me confidence for the next rounds. I think I’m on the right track to play good tennis again against the strongest tennis players”, said Angelique Kerber.
The upcoming clash between Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber will be the 16th in their rivalry. The German has a slight advantage at 8-7.
“We will try to make a good match. We are friends and will continue to be so after this match. Of course, each of us will try to win. But at the end of the day, I think there are more important things than a tennis match. But it will be interesting for all of us”, said Angelique Kerber.
“It will be a great match. We have played against each other so many times. We know each other extremely well and have no secrets from each other. The one who has a better day will win”, added Caroline Wozniacki.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (Russia), who is 22nd-seeded, also advances after defeating Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil) by 2-1 (2:6, 6:4, 6:3) in 2:40 hours of play. In contention for a place in the quarterfinals, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova will play 31st-seeded Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine).
The 13th-seeded Jasmine Paolini (Italy) defeated Anna Kalinskaya (Russia) after 2-1 (6:3, 3:6, 6:4). In the next phase, she will face another Russian – Anastasia Potapova, who eliminated Nadia Podoroska (Argentina) after2-0 (6:1, 6:1).
