Third-round action starts on Day 5 of the BNP Paribas Open. Roland Garros finalist Coco Gauff will play her last match before turning 19 on Monday against a fellow 18-year-old, fast-rising Linda Noskova. Elsewhere, Jelena Ostapenko and Petra Kvitova will square off in the third battle of Grand Slam champions at this year's tournament, while Barbora Krejcikova and Jessica Pegula are also in action.
Here are the top five picks from the order of play.
More from Indian Wells: Scores | Order of play | Raducanu, Fernandez advance | Swiatek sets clash with Andreescu | Rybakina holds off Kenin | Jabeur returns to action
[6] Coco Gauff (USA) vs. Linda Noskova (CZE)
Head-to-head: 0-0
A first meeting at any level between the two highest-ranked teenagers in the world, this could be the first edition of a significant rivalry.
Gauff is only eight months older than Noskova, but she has a good deal more experience behind her. She's been a tour fixture since 2019, when she rocketed into the Top 100 at the age of 15; Indian Wells is her 56th WTA main draw, compared to Noskova's eighth. Gauff reached her first Grand Slam final at Roland Garros last year -- the same tournament where Noskova qualified for her tour-level debut.
Highlights: Gauff d. Bucsa, R2 | Noskova d. Anisimova, R2
But Noskova is closing the gap fast. She has a 2-1 record against Top 10 opponents this year -- the same number of wins against that echelon as Gauff has in the past 12 months. Her easy power and calmness under pressure have become signature attributes, and they've been in evidence in her wins over Irina-Camelia Begu and No.31 seed Amanda Anisimova this week. A matchup against Gauff's phenomenal footspeed and net skills should make for a fascinating stylistic contrast.
Head to Head
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[15] Petra Kvitova (CZE) vs. [24] Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)
Head-to-head: Kvitova leads 5-4 (3-3 on outdoor hard courts, 1-1 in 2022)
There'll be no such stylistic contrast when Petra Kvitova and Jelena Ostapenko square off for the 10th time. As Kvitova put it after defeating Elizabeth Mandlik in her opener:
"It will be quick game for sure. Does't matter really. I will not have time to think where I'm going to put my ball."
Highlights: Kvitova d. Mandlik, R2 | Ostapenko d. Sasnovich, R2
It will be the third meeting of Grand Slam champions at Indian Wells this year, and their past record offers few clues as to the outcome. Kvitova and Ostapenko have alternated wins ever since 2016, and separating their head-to-head by surface (outdoor hard), recency (2022) and geographic (USA) metrics all end up in level splits. Ostapenko has had the more eye-catching results this year, with an Australian Open quarterfinal run under her belt, but Kvitova's form against Mandlik was more convincing than the Latvian's scratchy three-set win over Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Afterwards, Ostapenko revealed that she has been suffering from an ear infection.
It will simply be a question of who gets the first strike in first -- and in between the lines. For fans of power tennis, this clash can't be beaten.
[26] Anastasia Potapova vs. [3] Jessica Pegula (USA)
Head-to-head: Pegula leads 2-0
Jessica Pegula's consistency in WTA 1000 events has underpinned the American's rise into the Top 3. She has reached at least the quarterfinals of six of the past seven tournaments at that level, and 11 of the past 16 dating back to 2020. Last October, she claimed her first WTA 1000 title in Guadalajara; this week, she opened her Indian Wells campaign by navigating past the dangerous Camila Giorgi in three sets.
Highlights: Pegula d. Giorgi, R2 | Potapova d. Wang Xiyu, R2
Over the past year, Anastasia Potapova has become a similar force in WTA 250s. The former junior No.1 won her first title in Istanbul on clay last April, and added a second on indoor hard courts last month in Linz. In between, Potapova was runner-up in Prague last July, and a semifinalist at three further 250 tournaments.
That's been enough to lift Potapova into the Top 30 for the first time two weeks ago. But her three-set win over Wang Xiyu this week was her first at a WTA 1000 since 2021. Pegula will function as a perfect test of her readiness to deliver at this level.
[7] Maria Sakkari (GRE) vs. [27] Anhelina Kalinina (UKR)
Head-to-head: Kalinina leads 1-0
Two days ago, Maria Sakkari found herself staring down the barrel of an opening-round exit. She had never beaten Shelby Rogers in three meetings; in their fourth, she trailed 6-2, 4-4 and triple break point. But the Greek pulled off a remarkable escape: she won nine straight points to steal the second set, and eight games in a row to take the match.
Highlights: Sakkari d. Rogers, R2 | Kalinina d. L.Fruhvirtova, R2
That's the kind of confidence-boosting win that could be a turning point for Sakkari, who showed real fortitude to preserve her Top 10 ranking in 2022 despite a mid-season dip in form. One of her losses during her slump was to Anhelina Kalinina on grass in Eastbourne, the Ukrainian's first Top 5 win. Kalinina has continued to improve steadily since, but Sakkari will have her sights on a second consecutive revenge victory.
[16] Barbora Krejcikova (CZE) vs. Wang Xinyu (CHN)
Head-to-head: Krejcikova leads 1-0
So far, Barbora Krejcikova has picked up in Indian Wells where she left off in Dubai: in total command of her game. She needed just 69 minutes to blunt Dayana Yastremska's power 6-1, 6-2 and extend her winning streak to seven. Her ranking hasn't caught up yet, but the Czech's form is reminiscent of the surge that took her to the Roland Garros title and World No.2 in 2021-22.
That's when Krejcikova last played Wang Xinyu, dispatching the Chinese player 6-1, 6-2 in the semifinals of Prague 2021 en route to a title on home soil. Wang, 21, has impressed this week with straight-sets defeats of Elise Mertens and No.18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova -- the latter her first Top 20 win since 2021, and a career-best one by ranking.
Also in action
No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka faces qualifier Lesia Tsurenko for the second time at this stage of Indian Wells. Sabalenka won 6-2, 7-5 in 2019, but Tsurenko won an earlier encounter in the 2018 Hobart quarterfinals 6-1, 6-1.
No.11 seed Veronika Kudermetova takes on No.17 seed Karolina Pliskova. Kudermetova reached her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal here last year; she leads the head-to-head 2-1, though the pair have not played since 2020.
Jil Teichmann, fresh off her eighth Top 10 win over Belinda Bencic, meets qualifier Rebecca Peterson in the only third-round match between unseeded players in the bottom half of the draw. Peterson owns a 14-3 record in 2023 so far, including a run to the Merida final as a qualifier two weeks ago.
