Women's Tennis Blog

Old friends and rivals, Angelique Kerber and Caroline Wozniacki, will play each other in the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open. The former leads their head-to-head 8-7, but the latter won their lone encounter in Indian Wells, in the 2013 semifinals. The Tuesday match promises to be a nailbiter and will test how far they have come in their return to the sport.

Success here in the desert can give them a massive boost in points and each has lifted the trophy here before. Both recently returned to the tour and are still fighting to restore their places in the rankings, the German entering the tournament at world No.607 and the Dane at No.204. Now in the round of 16, the live ranking has them at No.342 and No.148, respectively. Both held the world number one spot at one point in their careers and are clawing their way closer with every week back on tour.

The German told Women’s Tennis Blog she expects both of them will savor the match more at this stage in their careers than previous encounters when they were younger. While the veterans have not played each other since 2018 in Eastbourne, they practice together frequently and stay in touch daily. The 36-year-old said, “I think we are both looking forward to this match and we are both in the same situation. We will try to play a good match, having a good battle out there. But, you know, we are friends now, and we will be still friends after a match. We will both try to win, but at the end, I think there are more important things than a tennis match.”

The three-time slam winner fought off Veronika Kudermetova 6-4 7-5. A critical game on the lefty’s serve in the second set went to deuce eight times before she finally held for 3-2. She saved seven of 11 breakpoints on her way to the victory.

Wozniacki expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming match against her childhood friend. Following a 6-2 4-6 6-0 victory over fellow wildcard entrant Katie Volynets, the one-time slam champion was bracing herself for another tough encounter: “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. 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.”

Since the two do chat every day, Women’s Tennis Blog asked if they might coordinate outfits for the matchup. Both Adidas players sported the same black and white Adidas dress this week. The mother of two said their only options for the tournament were a dress or shirt and skirt combination that appears almost identical on screen. Laughing, she added, “it’s a really cool dress, so I’m going to try and rock it. I know that Angie is going to rock it too.”

Following up Naomi Osaka’s first-round win over Sara Errani, fellow WTA mothers Angelique Kerber and her close friend Caroline Wozniacki advanced to the third round.

The German defeated tenth seed Jelena Ostapenko 5-7 6-3 6-3 in a sunny mid-day match over two hours long. Having played only a handful of matches since returning to the tour as a mother, the former Wimbledon champion was relaxed and relieved meeting with press after the match. She said, “it feels good to play a match like this and to win against such a top player. She won two titles this year already. That gives me a lot of confidence for the next matches.”

The transition back to the stadium has not been an easy one: “I’m showing myself that hard work pays off, that I just have to make the transition from the practice court to the match court. This is what I felt before this tournament, that I need a lot of matches, especially matches like this, playing against the top players, and that I have the feeling that I’m strong again in important moments.”

The current world No.607 told Women’s Tennis Blog that while Ostapenko’s aggressive style is a real challenge, she also hopes to have a few more grinding opponents with long rallies to test her match fitness.

Traveling with her daughter has affected the tennis mom’s schedule, as would be expected. “My practice is a little bit different than it was before. I really try to just practice once a day, but doing it more intense, just to going out playing intense, practicing intense, and exactly knowing what I want to practice.”

The 36-year-old initially bonded with the Danish Caroline Wozniacki over their shared Polish history, but now they bond over their experience as mothers on tour.

The 33-year-old mother of two Wozniacki defeated Donna Vekic 7-6(5) 6-3. Speaking with media after the match, the former world number one was pleased with her movement, but knew she still has some distance from her more consistent peak form: “what I have been struggling with in a couple matches this year is just the lack of match play, maybe losing focus a little bit all of a sudden throughout the match and then getting in trouble because of that.” She added, “I feel like every match I get to play, the better I can play.”

In the third round, Wozniacki will face Californian wildcard Katie Volynets, who defeated Ons Jabeur 6-4 6-4. Kerber will face seventeen-seed Veronika Kudermetova.