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Match details
Fixture: (6) Maria Sakkari vs Katerina Siniakova.
Date: 12 March 2022.
Tournament: BNP Paribas Open.
Round: Second round (Round of 64).
Venue: Indian Wells, California, USA.
Category: WTA 1000.
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt.
Prize money: $8,369,455.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Maria Sakkari vs Katerina Siniakova preview
Sixth seed Maria Sakkari will kickstart her BNP Paribas Open campaign against World No. 55 Katerina Siniakova on Saturday.
The Greek has picked up from where she left off after reaching the French Open and US Open semifinals last year. She has had an impressive season so far, reaching the final at St. Petersburg and the semifinals at the Qatar Open.
Sakkari's last outing at Indian Wells ended in a second-round defeat at the hands of Viktorija Golubic and she will be keen to correct that this time around.
Although known for her doubles success, Katerina Siniakova has been making headway in singles since last year. She finished as the runner-up in Bad Homburg, besides making the semis in Parma and the quarters in Istanbul, Prague and Cleveland in 2021.
However, the Czech hasn't been able to make much of an impact so far this year. Her best performance remains winning three matches to qualify for the main draw in Dubai, where she lost to Garbine Muguruza in the first round.
Siniakova wasn't at her best in the first round at Indian Wells on Thursday. But she managed to steady the ship and complete a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 win over the dangerous Irina-Camelia Begu.
Maria Sakkari vs Katerina Siniakova head-to-head
Sakkari and Siniakova are locked at 2-2 in the head-to-head. Interestingly, all four of their meetings have come at Grand Slams so far, with Sakkari winning their most recent encounter at the 2021 US Open 6-4, 6-2.
Maria Sakkari vs Katerina Siniakova prediction
Siniakova was lucky to get through the first round, having coughed up as many as 14 double faults. She also managed to convert a meager eight out of 23 break points. Begu pretty much assisted the Czech with her own disastrous serving performance that saw her commit 10 double faults.
But a player like Sakkari won't let Siniakova get away if her serving woes resurface. One of the hardest hitters on the tour, the Greek will look to put pressure on the Siniakova serve with her efficient returns.
That said, Sakkari needs to be ready to deal with the variety that the Czech could bring into the match. Being the World No. 1 doubles ace, she has excellent hands at the net and will look to move forward whenever she senses the opportunity.
Even though that could briefly put the sixth seed in trouble, Sakkari is likely to have too much firepower for Siniakova in the end.
Prediction: Maria Sakkari to win in straight sets.
