Monday's action at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden delivered far more emotion than Sunday's matches in the WTA 1000 competition. While all the biggest names advanced to the Round of 16, Monday's clashes in the top half of the draw brought intense competitiveness.
Here is the recap of it and a preview of top half's matches in the upcoming Round of 16, which is about to play on Wednesday. The bottom half plays today, and the simillar preview of it you can find in yesterday's article -> HERE.
Madison Keys needed nearly three hours to defeat Elise Mertens in the most thrilling match of the day. Initially, it seemed like a routine victory for the Australian Open champion. Keys won the first set, capitalizing on her chances and defending all six break points on her own serve. The second set appeared to be one-sided from the start, with Keys leading 3-0 with a break and later serving for the match at 5-3. Holding two match points on her serve, the American was unable to close it out, as a relentless Mertens mounted a stunning comeback to level the score. Keys regained control in the tiebreak, even leading 5-2 and holding two additional match points, but Mertens refused to surrender, staging a heroic fightback to claim the second set after an 83-minute battle.
The decider was no less competitive, following a similar pattern. Keys took an early lead, only for Mertens to claw her way back onto level terms midway through the set. Ultimately, the match was decided on the racquet of the world No. 5, who, much like in the first set, proved clutch in the key moments, sealing the victory 6-2, 6-7(8), 6-4.
Keys will face Donna Vekic in the Round of 16. The Croatian delivered her most impressive performance of the season, defeating Emma Navarro 7-6(5), 6-1. Navarro was the only top-10 seed to fall before the fourth round, after already coming close to elimination in her opening match against Sorana Cîrstea. Vekic ended her surprising drought in WTA 1000 tournaments, where she had only reached the Round of 16 three times in 55 main draw appearances before this event. Her dominant performance against Navarro saw her break serve in seven of Navarro’s nine service games. Vekic has been highly efficient this week, producing impressive return statistics. Against Navarro and in the previous round against Elina Avanesyan (6-3, 6-3), she won 65% and 55% of points on first serve return, and 68% and 65% on second serve return, respectively. However, despite the seemingly one-sided scorelines, she faced almost as many return pressure points as she generated - 22 vs. 20 against Avanesyan and 20 vs. 23 against Navarro - showcasing her ability to capitalize on key moments.
Aryna Sabalenka continued her dominant run in Indian Wells. Following a flawless match against McCartney Kessler, where the world No. 1 did not face a single break point, Sabalenka crushed Lucia Bronzetti 6-1, 6-2. Among the top contenders, she arguably has the toughest path ahead on paper. Her next opponent is lucky loser Sonay Kartal, the lowest-ranked player remaining in the draw and the tournament’s biggest surprise. Kartal lost to WTA No. 259 Clervie Ngounoue in the final round of qualifying but gained entry into the main draw as a lucky loser. She has since not dropped a set, defeating Varvara Lepchenko, the out-of-form Beatriz Haddad Maia, and Polina Kudermetova. However, another upset seems highly unlikely.
Coco Gauff appeared to find her rhythm in her match against Maria Sakkari. Despite dropping an early break and contesting a competitive first set against last year’s Indian Wells runner-up, Gauff secured her second victory of the tournament, winning 7-6(1), 6-2. The American now faces a marquee clash against Belinda Bencic in the Round of 16 on Wednesday. Bencic, who previously won a high-quality match against Amanda Anisimova, followed up with another straight-sets victory, defeating 13th seed Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-4. Given Bencic’s rising form, this matchup is difficult to call. The exceptionally poor performance on 2nd serve points displayed by Gauff this year catches the eye on the radar chart. The American won just 39% of those points in the 2025 year so far. It's also not the dominion of Bencic, who does a bit better in general though. This could be one of the crucial areas on Wednesday - how the return abilities of both players will translate into making the advantage on second serve, where both (especially Gauff) struggle at this point of time.
Jasmine Paolini battled through a second consecutive three-setter to reach the fourth round. The Italian struggled against teenager Iva Jovic in her opener and endured another tough battle against Jaqueline Cristian on Monday. In a match filled with momentum swings and serving struggles from both players, Paolini ultimately prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Her next opponent is Liudmila Samsonova, who upset compatriot and 12th seed Daria Kasatkina. Kasatkina, the pre-match favorite, comfortably won the first set and led early in the second, only for Samsonova to stage a stunning turnaround. She broke Kasatkina six times in the next seven games, dominating the decider to win 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.
