Sabalenka-Andreeva and Rune-Draper: Finals Day at the Indian Wells Tournament
The Indian Wells tournament is about to deliver its verdict. After ten days of competition, only two players remain in both the men's and women's draws, and no matter what happens, two new champions will be crowned in the California desert. Starting at 7 PM French time, the women's final will kick off the action.
World number one and finalist of this same tournament two years ago, Aryna Sabalenka will aim for her second title this season after being crowned in Brisbane just before the Australian Open. After stumbling at the final hurdle in Melbourne, the Belarusian had a tough Middle Eastern tour, bowing out early in Doha and then in Dubai.
In the final, Sabalenka will face Mirra Andreeva. This matchup is becoming a classic in women's tennis, as it will be their third encounter of the season after Sabalenka's victories in the semifinals in Brisbane (6-3, 6-2) and then in the round of 16 in Melbourne (6-1, 6-2).
Andreeva, who just won the title at the WTA 1000 in Dubai, arrives with confidence, having remained undefeated in her last 10 matches since her second-round loss in Doha to Sramkova.
Following that, the men's final will feature, as in 2021 (Norrie-Basilashvili), two players ranked outside the top 10. Holger Rune has been dominant on his way to the final, defeating Moutet, Humbert, Tsitsipas, Griekspoor, and Medvedev to reach his fourth Masters 1000 final.
The Dane will face Jack Draper, a novice at this stage of the competition in this same category of tournaments, who has had a strong tournament by defeating Fonseca, Brooksby, Fritz, Shelton, and Alcaraz.
Guaranteed to enter the top 10 and become the fifth British player since the creation of the ATP rankings to break into the top ten (after Murray, Rusedski, Henman, and Norrie), Draper will fight to win the biggest tournament of his career so far, at just 22 years old.
Indian Wells 
