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This round 2 clash sees the world number 1 and pre-tournament title-favourite Iga Swiatek open her 2023 Indian Wells campaign with a seemingly easy match against the world number 56 Claire Liu. Below is our prediction for the match.
These odds from Ladbrokes were correct at the time of writing.
Iga Swiatek vs Claire Liu – Match Predictions
Contents
Although we are expecting Liu to try and give a good account of herself, we believe that our tips for the match are very solid. Let’s take a closer look at them.
Set 1 Under 8.5 Games
Iga Swiatek remains the world number 1 for a reason, this despite unexpectedly early exit from the 2023 Australian Open in round 4. Swiatek hasn’t lost a match against a player outside the top 25 since July last year. The Pole dominates most of her games and she was able to win 7 of her 9 first sets in matches allowing fewer than 3 games.
At the same time, Liu’s form had been very patchy this calendar year and she is yet to even win a set against a top 50 player in 2023.
Total Games – Under 17.5
In natural continuation to our first betting tip comes the second Swiatek vs Liu prediction that the total games of the match will be less than 18. Swiatek dropped just 9 games combined in the 6 sets for her last 3 wins and she tends to finish opponents quickly once she starts to dominate.
Iga Swiatek vs Claire Liu Preview
Let’s take a closer look at their form and hopes for the tournament.
Iga Swiatek
Swiatek was the big favourite for the Australian Open title, but she failed to meet expectations in Melbourne. Despite that, the Pole remains world number 1 and in her first tournament after Australian Open she won the title in Doha after beating the American number 1 Pegula in the match for the title.
Swiatek also reached the final of her last tournament in Dubai. There she lost to the world number 30 Krejcikova in what was an unnaturally unfocused display.
Naturally the big favourite and world number 1 Swiatek received a Bye in round 1, so this will be her first match on this year’s Indian Wells.
Claire Liu
Liu had to dig deep in round 1 of the Indian Wells to beat Schmiedlova 7-6, 6-3. The American saved 4 setpoints in set 1 in this match and needed lots of luck to avoid drama.
This was Liu’s only second round 1 win in her last 5 tournaments and she has been struggling for form so far in 2023. She’s yet to go past round 2 of any tournament this year and 3 of her last 4 defeats were against players outside the world top 100.
Iga Swiatek vs Claire Liu Head to Head
The only previous meeting between the two was way back in 2019. Even than and age just 17 Swiatek managed to beat Liu in 3 sets – 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Iga Swiatek vs Claire Liu Match Details
- What is the scheduled start? The match will start at around 19:30 GMT on Saturday, March 11th.
- How can I watch it? The match will be streamed live on Amazon Prime for fans in the United Kingdom.
- Who is the bookies’ favourite for the upcoming match? The bookmakers favour heavily Iga Swiatek.
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