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There have already been quite a few shake-ups on the women's side of the draw at Indian Wells.
Defending champion Elena Rybakina announced her withdrawal just hours before her second-round match due to an illness. Sixth seed Ons Jabeur slumped to a 6-4, 6-4 defeat against American Katie Volynets.
Caroline Wozniacki and Angelique Kerber scored the best wins of their comebacks as they issued a reminder to every one of their prowess. They knocked out 25th seed Donna Vekic and 10th seed Jelena Ostaptenko, respectively.
Iga Swiatek remained a beacon of stability amidst the chaos as she made light work of Danielle Collins to reach the third round. Marketa Vondrousova, Beatriz Haddad Maia, and Jasmine Paolini were among the other winners.
Now, more players will be eyeing to reach the third round. With that in mind, here's a look at the predictions for some of the key singles matches set for Day 4 at Indian Wells:
#1 - Elina Svitolina vs Katerina Siniakova
Svitolina started the year with a runner-up finish at the ASB Classic. She put up a fight in the final against Coco Gauff but the teenager outplayed her to win 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3. The Ukrainian then reached the fourth round of the Australian Open but was forced to retire just minutes into her match due to an injury.
Svitolina returned to action a month later at the Dubai Tennis Championships. She scored wins over Anhelina Kalinina and Tatjana Maria, after which Iga Swiatek knocked her out in the third round.
Siniakova commenced her Indian Wells campaign with a 7-5, 7-6 (3) win over Greet Minnen. She hasn't been too consistent with her results in singles and has managed to notch up back-to-back victories in just one tournament so far.
Svitolina leads Siniakova 3-0 in the head-to-head but all of her wins have come in three sets. Their previous meeting took place a while ago at the 2019 Canadian Open. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian will be expected to prevail yet again.
Predicted winner: Elina Svitolina
#2 - Maria Sakkari vs Diana Shnaider
Sakkari has been going through a rough patch after a good start to the season. She won all three of her singles ties at the United Cup, though the Greeks were eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Sakkari lost to Elina Avanesyan in the second round of the Australian Open. She then bowed out of the Abu Dhabi Open and the Qatar Open without winning a match. She finally ended her losing skid with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Emma Navarro to reach the third round of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
However, Sakkari couldn't sustain the momentum and lost to Paolini after that. Shanider outlasted Ana Bogdan in the first round at Indian Wells to edge past her with a 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-3 win. The Russian captured her maiden WTA title at last month's Hua Hin Championships.
However, Shnaider's win over Bogdan was her first since her title-winning run. She did give Sakkari a tough fight when they crossed paths at last year's Australian Open but couldn't get the job done. Given the Greek's poor form, she's susceptible to losing to the teenager this time.
Predicted winner: Diana Shnaider
#3 - Zheng Qinwen vs Yuan Yue
Zheng reached her maiden Major final at this year's Australian Open, where she lost to Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 6-2. She then lost to Leylah Fernandez in the third round of the Qatar Open, while Swiatek sent her packing in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
Yuan clinched her first career title at the WTA level at last week's ATX Open in Austin. She continued her unbeaten run with a 6-4, 6-1 win over Varvara Gracheva in her Indian Wells opener.
Yuan has momentum on her side at the moment. She'll look to continue her upward ascent with a win over Zheng. However, the latter has a decent record against lower-ranked players and should be able to advance further.
Predicted winner: Zheng Qinwen
#4 - Daria Kasatkina vs Oceane Dodin
Kasatkina has reached a couple of finals at the WTA 500 level this year but has underperformed at the bigger tournaments. She crashed out in the second round of the Australian Open and failed to make it past the first round of the WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha and Dubai.
Dodin made it to the fourth round of a Major for the first time at this year's Australian Open. She staged a comeback to defeat Avanesyan 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the first round at Indian Wells.
If Kasatkina continues her struggles at prestigious events, then Dodin has a shot at victory. However, should the Russian get her act together, she could finally score a much-needed win.
Predicted winner: Daria Kasatkina
