Iga Swiatek gets Zheng Qinwen Olympic rematch; teen Mirra Andreeva faces veteran Elina Svitolina: Indian Wells, Day 9 Preview

>>> For live scores of all four men's and women's quarterfinals from the BNP Paribas Open, CLICK HERE

Iga Swiatek vs. Zheng Qinwen

>>> Stream live on TennisChannel.com (2 p.m. ET)

A week ago, were we really wondering if the new and presumably faster surface in Indian Wells might make Swiatek more beatable here? Well, we needn’t have worried about her. The surface hasn’t turned out to be all that much slower, and Swiatek has turned out to be just as commanding on it as she was in the past. Once again, she has kicked her game up a gear or two in the desert; in three matches, she has lost just six games. Even Karolina Muchova, who pushed her to the limit in the Roland Garros final in 2023, could only muster a pair of breadsticks on Tuesday.

Does Zheng stand any chance of doing better? There are a couple of reasons to hope this quarterfinal will be competitive. Like Swiatek, she has shaken off some of her early-season sluggishness this week, and has won her three matches in straight sets as well. And while Swiatek has the overwhelming lead in their head to head—6-1—Zheng won the most recent, and the most important, of those even matches, in the Olympic semifinals in Paris last summer.

Still, recent history says that once Swiatek finds her groove in the spring, she doesn’t lose it again until summer. She seems to be in a pretty good groove right now. Winner: Swiatek

Mirra Andreeva vs. Elina Svitolina

>>> Stream live on TennisChannel.com (4 p.m. ET)

We’re one round, and two wins, away from a much-anticipated Andreeva-Swiatek semifinal. While Iga is the defending champion and has been brilliant again this year, there’s been more chatter about Andreeva’s form. That’s because, at 17, she seems to be getting better with every week, every match, maybe every swing. Last month in Dubai, she beat Elena Rybakina in three tough sets; on Tuesday in Indian Wells she beat her 6-1, 6-2 in 64 minutes.

Can Svitolina, 13 years her senior and a wife and mom, spoil the teen’s debutante party in their first meeting? Before this week, it would have seemed like a long shot. Svitolina was just 6-4 on the year and, at 30, seemingly on a long-term downswing. But she has been revived in Indian Wells, with wins over two Americans, Danielle Collins and Jessica Pegula, who had mostly owned her in the past.

Svitolina has been ranked as high as No. 3, but Andreeva’s ceiling is even higher than that. She already does everything as well as the Ukrainian ever did. This quarterfinal, coming right after her big win over Rybakina and right before a possible meeting with Swiatek, might be termed a classic trap match for her. But I don’t see Andreeva falling into it right now. Winner: Andreeva

Daniil Medvedev vs. Arthur Fils

>>> Stream live on TennisChannel.com (4 p.m. ET)

As with Zheng, Svitolina, and even Swiatek, Indian Wells has inspired Medvedev and Fils to raise their levels of play. Neither had a good Australian Open, and neither was much better in February. But now they find themselves in the quarterfinals in the desert.

That’s not surprising for Medvedev. While he’s on record saying he hates these courts, he has reached the IW final the last two years. Now that the top half of the draw has been depleted, he’s the favorite to make it there again. His 6-4, 6-0 win over Tommy Paul on Tuesday night was vintage Medvedev; he built a wall at the baseline that Paul never came close to getting around.

Can Fils do better? At 20, with a couple of seasons under his belt, the Frenchman should be ready for a breakout year. He’s 0-1 against Medvedev, which wouldn’t mean much, except that his athletic power-baseline game—which is not unlike Paul’s—might be a bad matchup against a Medvedev who appears to be gaining confidence, and who likes these courts a lot more than he lets on. Winner: Medvedev