Wozniacki, Kerber open a new chapter in rivalry, friendship at Indian Wells

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. -- Arranging a play date with young children can be a daunting exercise. There are lots of logistics to overcome -- most importantly, coordinating nap schedules.

Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber were hoping to pull it off here with their 1-year-olds at the BNP Paribas Open. But first Kerber’s daughter Liana was a bit under the weather, then Wozniacki’s son James came up ill.

“If it doesn’t happen here,” Wozniacki said, “it’ll definitely happen in Miami.”

Before that, there’s the small matter of Tuesday’s fourth-round play date between Wozniacki and Kerber. They are dear friends, former World No.1s and Grand Slam champions. This will be their 16th meeting on the Hologic WTA Tour; Kerber leads the head-to-head 8-7. They haven’t played an official match in six years. 

“We are both looking forward to this match and we are both in the same situation,” Kerber told reporters. “We are friends now, and we will be still friends after a match. So, yeah, we will try of course both to win. But at the end, I think there are more important things than a tennis match.”

Wozniacki added, “There’s going to be no secrets out there. We both know each other’s game inside out. We know what to do, we know what to expect. It’s really going to be about who is going to be better on the day.”

Not only have they both won three matches in Indian Wells, they’ve done it while multi-tasking with childcare.

Wozniacki now 33, returned to the tour last summer following the birth of her second child -- daughter Olivia is two. She reached the fourth round at the US Open, losing there to eventual champion Coco Gauff. Playing a reduced schedule, she had lost three of four matches this year coming into the desert. Displaying her trademark defense, she’s beaten Zhu Lin, No.25 seed Donna Vekic and Katie Volynets.

Kerber, 36, stepped away after Wimbledon in 2022, returning 17 months later in January at the United Cup in Australia. She was rusty, losing six of seven matches but has found her old form -- suffocating defense and timely offense -- in victories over Petra Martic, No.10 seed Jelena Ostapenko in three sets and No.17 Veronika Kudermetova.

Increasingly, the Kerber-Wozniacki relationship has a circle-of-life feel to it. Two years ago, Wozniacki chose to exit professional tennis at home in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was an exhibition -- she invited Kerber to play her out.

This one, Wozniacki said, “It can go either way.”

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With a spot in the quarterfinals on the line, here’s a look at the three other fourth-round matches from the top half of the draw:

No.1 Iga Swiatek vs. Yulia Putintseva

No one is finishing these days like Swiatek.

She was deadlocked 3-all with Danielle Collins in her first match here, then won the last nine games. Down 4-2, she went one better against Linda Noskova, taking the last 10.

“I wouldn’t say I felt like I’m in a roll, because I know that both of these players can easily switch the momentum back,” Swiatek said. “So I was constantly on my toes. Even when I had 5-0 in the second set, I kind of just imagined that I’m still in the middle of the match -- just get back to work, because it’s not going to win itself on its own.”

Putintseva, a 29-year-old from Kazakhstan, is the only unseeded player in the top half not named Kerber or Wozniacki. The No.79-ranked player has drilled her way past Tamara Korpatsch, No.15 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova and No.18 Madison Keys.

Swiatek has won their two previous matches in straight sets. She has made the semifinals or better at eight of her last nine appearances at WTA 1000 events.

No.13 Jasmine Paolini vs. No.28 Anastasia Potapova

The hottest player in the desert? It’s Paolini, who’s won seven straight matches.
 
After capturing her first career WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai, she’s back at it in Indian Wells. Paolini defeated Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 -- the same player she beat in the Dubai final. 

She had never made it past the third round here in Indian Wells. Now she's a win away from a second straight WTA 1000 quarterfinal.

Insider Podcast: Paolini dishes on her Polish roots and learning to excel on hard courts
 
“I’m the same person,” she told BNPParibasOpen.com, referring to the Dubai title. “I feel nothing changed, but of course a little bit changed because people are stopping me and saying, ‘Well played in Dubai, congratulations, I’m your fan.’
 
“It’s something new for me.”

Potapova, 21, has progressed nicely as well, defeating qualifiers Kayla Day and Nadia Podoroska. Paolini and Podoroska have never played.
 
No.22 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. No.31 Marta Kostyuk

Ten days ago, Kostyuk leveled their career head-to-head at 1-all with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory over Pavlyuchenkova in the quarterfinals of the San Diego Open.

Pavlyuchenkova rallied to defeat No.12 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday night. Kostyuk got here via walkover when No.7 Marketa Vondrousova withdrew due to personal reasons.