Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber, two former World No.1 players who have recently returned from maternity leave, will face off in a marquee Round of 16 showdown after picking up third-round wins on Sunday at the BNP Paribas Open.

In an all-wild card tussle in the night session, Wozniacki of Denmark outlasted American Katie Volynets 6-2, 4-6, 6-0 in 2 hours and 10 minutes to make the fourth round. Wozniacki, the 2011 BNP Paribas Open champion, is playing at Indian Wells for the first time since 2019.

"Any time I hit it short, [Volynets] would go in and really cut off the angles and go in a different direction," Wozniacki said after her win. "It was a difficult match. We had a lot of long rallies, but happy to be through."

Earlier, Kerber ousted No.17 seed Veronika Kudermetova 6-4, 7-5 to book her spot in the Round of 16. The 2019 BNP Paribas Open finalist Kerber took 1 hour and 47 minutes to collect her second consecutive Top 20 win, having already upset No.10 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the previous round.

"I think it was a really intense match," Kerber said. "It's another important match-win for me, for sure, and gives me confidence for the next rounds. ... I think [I'm] on a good way to again playing good tennis against the best players."

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All-star rivalry resumes: Two of the seven mothers who started this week's main draw, Grand Slam champions Wozniacki and Kerber will meet for the 16th time on Tuesday. Kerber holds a narrow 8-7 edge in their head-to-head.

The pair first squared off on tour at 2008 Stockholm, where Wozniacki prevailed in straight sets. Their most recent meeting came ten years after their first, in the 2018 Eastbourne semifinals, where Wozniacki triumphed in three sets after saving match point.

"We will try to play a good match, having a good battle out there," Kerber said. "We are friends now, and we will be still friends after a match. So, we will try, of course, both to win. But at the end, I think there are more important things than a tennis match, but I think for the crowd and for everyone it will be interesting match."

Wozniacki added: "It's going to be a great match. We've played each other so much. We know each other extremely well. There's going to be no secrets out there. ... It's really going to be about who is going to be better on the day. It can go either way."

Wozniacki's winning continues: Wozniacki, the 33-year-old mother-of-two, returned to action last summer after a three-year hiatus from tour. In her third event back, she reached the US Open Round of 16, pushing eventual champion Coco Gauff to three sets.

Wozniacki started this season slowly, winning only one of her first four matches in 2024. But the former Indian Wells titlist has recaptured her winning ways in the desert, notching three consecutive wins for the first time since her US Open run last year.

The Dane had to stare down a challenge from Volynets, who knocked out No.6 seed Ons Jabeur in the last round. Wozniacki cruised through the opening frame, but Volynets dramatically upped her winner total from four in the first set to 12 in the second set, leveling the match.

In the third set, Wozniacki gritted out rallies to earn an early break at 2-0, and she continued to outmaneuver and outrun Volynets as the decider wore on. Wozniacki swept through the final set with ease, and she finished the match having converted half of her 14 break points.

Wozniacki is into the Round of 16 at Indian Wells for the tenth time in her career, and the first time since 2018. She is the only woman to reach the BNP Paribas Open Round of 16 ten times between 2001 and present.

Kerber continues breakthrough fortnight: The 36-year-old Kerber, who gave birth to daughter Liana just over a year ago, kicked off her own comeback at the very beginning of this season, following a year-and-a-half off tour.

Kerber also had a challenging start to 2024. The German lost six of her first seven matches this year, although half of those defeats were to Top 20 players at the mixed-team United Cup.

Like Wozniacki, Kerber's game clicked into place this week. Kerber toppled Ostapenko on Friday to notch her first Top 10 win since 2021, then backed it up by besting Kudermetova. Kerber converted half of her 12 break points on Sunday, while saving seven of the 11 break points she faced.

Kerber, who is currently ranked No.607 and entered this week on a protected ranking of No.31, is the first player ranked outside the Top 600 to go this deep at Indian Wells.

But whatever her ranking may be, Kerber regularly brings her best at this event -- she has now reached at least the Round of 16 in her last six Indian Wells appearances.