Indian Wells 2015 Preview & Predictions: March 17

The women’s match between Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka took center stage Monday at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. Two legends take the court Tuesday against foes who have recently vanquished them at a Grand Slam. As some of the top contenders for the title face tough opponents, take a look at previews and predictions of the the best matches in Tuesday’s order of play.

Serena Williams (USA) vs. Sloane Stephens (USA)

STADIUM 1, 2nd on

Two legends take the court Tuesday against foes who have recently vanquished them at a Grand Slam.

Serena’s return to Indian Wells after 14 years has already been triumphant. Now she turns her attention from past hurts to future victories. The emotions have subsided and Serena is playing great tennis. Williams destroyed a quality opponent in Zarina Diyas. Indian Wells plays perfectly to Serena. The courts are not quick enough for her to get blown away, but she has the power to hit through any court.

Stephens has been on a downslide since her 2013 victory over Williams at the Australian Open. In fairness, Serena was not totally healthy in that match. There has been some bad blood between the two Americans since then. It hasn’t bothered Williams, but Stephens has tumbled down the rankings. Indecisive strategy and wild play have hindered Stephens. Until beating Kerber and Kuznetsova this week, Stephens hadn’t won consecutive matches this year. Those are two great wins, but Serena is a different story.

Prediction: Williams

Donald Young (USA) vs. Rafael Nadal (ESP)

Mar 15, 2015; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Rafael Nadal (ESP) during his match against Igor Sijsling (NED) at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

STADIUM 1, 3rd on

Young put up amazing results in February. He earned a semifinal birth in Memphis, beating Adrian Mannarino and Bernard Tomic,. He also made the finals of Delray Beach, taking out Alexandr Dolgopolov and Tomic again. Perhaps the American hopeful is finally living up to the potential that has been discussed for year. To be successful, he will need to be the aggressor. If Nadal pushes Young back in the court, the home player has no chance.

Questions and doubts faced Nadal as be began his quest at Indian Wells. He hadn’t had great success on the hard courts in his return this year. He even looked flustered on the clay courts of Rio. A dominating victory over Igor Sijsling was a step in the right direction. For what may be the first time all season, Rafa had the confidence to play close to the baseline and go for his penetrating and angled groundstrokes.

Prediction: Nadal

Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) vs. Jack Sock (USA)

STADIUM 2, 2nd on

Bautista Agut is the forgotten top 20 player on the ATP Tour. Similar to countryman David Ferrer, he just keeps putting up consistent quality results. Bautista Agut is not afraid of the hard courts and should like the conditions at Indian Wells. He will run down plenty of shots and play consistent tennis, forcing his opponent to come up with great play to win every point.

Sock has to consider his return successful. He already notched wins over the dangerous Yen-Hsun Lu and Gilles Muller. After two tough three set matches, one wonders where Sock’s fitness level will be for this match in his first tournament of the year.If he is anything but 100 percent, Bautista Agut is the type of player that will wear him down very quickly.

Prediction: Bautista Agut

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