Danish professional tennis star Caroline Wozniacki holds a significant chance of winning the Indian Wells 2024 title. But if she does, this wouldn’t be the first time she would win the BNP Paribas Open. Her first and only Indian Wells title came way back in 2011 when she was a 21-year-old player. Not only was Wozniacki a World No.1 player by then, but she had also won 13 WTA titles already.
Caroline Wozniacki entered the 2011 BNP Paribas Open as the No.1 seed. She was followed by Kim Clijsters, Vera Zvonareva, Samantha Stosur, and others in that order. Wozniacki started the tournament in the second round against American player Sloane Stephens.
Wozniacki was in such good form that it was a procession for her against Stephens. She won 6-3, 6-2, without much trouble. In the third round, Wozniacki met Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, who she defeated 6-1, 6-3. The first touch of tough competition Wozniacki faced was in the fourth round against Russian player Alisa Kleybanova. Wozniacki lost the first set 2-6, but she had no trouble bouncing back 6-3, 6-1.
Caroline Wozniacki could’ve had a tough time winning against Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-final, who was at the time, ranked 8th. However, mid-game, Azarenka had to retire hurt due to a left leg injury. Wozniacki got a walkover to the semi-final.
In the semi-final, she met a then-in-form Maria Sharapova, who couldn’t afford to tackle the Wozniacki’s brilliance. Wozniacki rolled over Sharapova 6-1, 6-2, and booked her place in the finals. Sharapova would later take her revenge in the 2013 Indian Wells final, beating Wozniacki 6-2, 6-2.
For the second year in a row and her career, Wozniacki reached the finals of the BNP Paribas Open. (Wozniacki lost to Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 6-4 in the 2010 Indian Wells final). Aware of her mistakes from the 2010 edition, Wozniacki was mindful not to repeat them. She beat Marion Bartoli 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 to win the title. After that, she only reached the final of this California-based ATP 1000 Masters event once in 2013 and lost. Will she be able to do it this time?
Caroline Wozniacki shows promising signs of winning her 2nd Indian Wells title
After more than 10 years, Carolina Wozniacki gave a glimmer of hope to her fans of winning a major ATP tournament. Her last win was at the 2018 China Open, where she beat Anastasija Sevastova 6-3, 6-3. This year at Indian Wells, Wozniacki has already defeated Zhu Lin 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, Donna Vekic 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, and Katie Volynets 6-2, 4-6, 6-0, in the first, second, and third rounds respectively.
Wozniacki entered the tournament as a wildcard entrant, and she now faces Angelique Kerber, a ‘Protected Ranking’ player in the fourth round.
On head-to-head, Kerber has the upper hand over Wozniacki, although only by 8-7. Wozniacki has a chance of making it even with 8-8 after Tuesday’s match. The match will be played on the outdoor hard courts of Indian Wells Tennis Garden and will start not before 9:00 pm local time in Indian Wells, California. It will stream live on Tennis Channel in the US, and Sky Sports in the UK.
