WTA Indian Wells: Sabalenka vs Gauff Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 WTA Indian Wells tournament as Aryna Sabalenka takes on Coco Gauff in the quarterfinal on Wednesday, March 15, 2023.

Aryna Sabalenka trails Coco Gauff in their head-to-head. But the Belarusian power hitter is favored to win their quarterfinal bout at Indian Wells. Will Gauff produce a surprise and deny the Australian Open champion?

Aryna Sabalenka vs. Coco Gauff Match Preview

Aryna Sabalenka improved to 15-1 for the season, after defeating Barbora Krejcikova in three sets in the fourth round. It was a rematch of their Dubai quarterfinal a couple of weeks back which the Czech won to inflict the only defeat in Sabalenka’s year thus far. The Belarusian has needed to win two matches to get to the last eight at Indian Wells and will be the outright favorite to win against Coco Gauff on Wednesday.

Coco Gauff, meanwhile, won an incredibly topsy-turvy three-setter against Rebecca Peterson. Their only meeting before this was back in 2019 which Peterson won handsomely, and it looked like the Swede had Gauff’s number for a moment after going within two games of knocking out the young American at Indian Wells. But the 19-year-old found her range in the closing games of the third set to prevail, winning four straight games from 2-4 down.

Aryna Sabalenka vs. Coco Gauff Prediction and Pick

Coco Gauff leads Aryna Sabalenka 3-1 in their head-to-head. Gauff defeated Sabalenka in their most recent meeting in Toronto last year in a third-set tiebreak and generally has had all the answers in this matchup. But this is very different version of Sabalenka with a completely different mindset and tactical acumen. Gauff can hang in tough against the Belarusian with her footspeed, solid backhand, and pacey serve. But her forehand is unlikely to match up to Sabalenka’s as is her composure which looked suspect in the last round. We are backing the world #2 to have the edge in this one.