Predicting the results of tennis matches is not an easy task. As we approach the Indian Wells tournament in March, some gamblers are still having nightmares over what happened last year.
Women’s tennis tournaments often prove to be unpredictable, therefore, even the most experienced betting fans find it difficult to bet on tennis. In any case, only licensed online bookmakers should be used. The recent Dubai Tennis Championships saw a final between two unseeded players. The ATP Tour doesn’t usually see that happen but Indian Wells last year was one for the history books.
For the first time ever in an ATP Masters tournament, all four semi-finalists were ranked outside the top 25. It was Cameron Norrie who was crowned champion, while the women’s singles produced a victory for the 21st seeded Paula Badosa.
The pandemic has caused problems for the Indian Wells tournament. It wasn’t held in 2020 and last year was delayed until October. Now it’s back to its regular slot in the schedule and takes place between March 7 and 20.
The tournament has been missing some of the top players in the world in recent years. That’s not going to be the case in 2022 though, with perhaps one notable exception.
Rafa Nadal has won the Indian Wells title on three previous occasions, but his last win was in 2013. After winning the Australian Open earlier this year, the Spaniard is on his way to Indian Wells for only the second time since 2017.
Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Cameron Norrie will all be competing at Indian Wells this year. Norrie made a poor start to the year with a series of defeats. His form has finally returned though with a run to the quarter finals in Rotterdam and on February 20, winning the Delray Beach Open. He’ll be attempting to become the first champion to retain his title since Novak Djokovic did so six years ago.
Will the world number one be at Indian Wells this year? Djokovic wasn’t allowed to play at the Australian Open and those entering the Indian Wells venue need to have proof of full vaccination. It looks therefore as if he may again miss out.
Ashleigh Barty may be world number one but the Australian Open champion has not fared well at Indian Wells. Her best performance in the tournament was in the fourth round three years ago. Barty will be at Indian Wells for the first time since then and after winning two of the last three Grand Slams, will be hard to beat.
Naomi Osaka won at Indian Wells in 2018 but has had to be given a wild card to play this year. The former champion has slumped down the rankings to 80th position. You can bet that no one will fancy drawing the Japanese player in the first round. Who knows we could see Barty vs. Osaka?
The big names may be back at Indian Wells, but we can still expect a fair few shocks. Players such as Aryna Sabalenka (currently the world number two) has never made it past the fourth round at Indian Wells. This year hasn’t gone well for her with three losses to opponents who were ranked outside the top 90 at the time.
Another unpredictable set of results look likely at Indian Wells this year. Perhaps not quite on the scale of 2021 but a fascinating event is on its way.
