Indian Wells 2022: Paula Badosa vs Tereza Martincova preview, head-to-head & prediction | BNP Paribas Open
Match details
Fixture: (5) Paula Badosa vs Tereza Martincova.
Date: 12 March 2022.
Tournament: BNP Paribas Open.
Round: Second round (Round of 64).
Venue: Indian Wells, USA.
Category: WTA 1000.
Surface: Hardcourt.
Prize money: $8,369,455.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Paula Badosa vs Tereza Martincova preview
Defending champion Paula Badosa will take on Czech Republic's Tereza Martincova in the second round of the 2022 BNP Paribas Open on Saturday.
Badosa comes into the tournament after a topsy turvy start to the 2022 season. The Spaniard won her first title of the year in Sydney before succumbing to a fourth-round defeat to Madison Keys at the Australian Open.
The 24-year-old then went on to lose two of her three matches in Dubai and Doha to Elena Gabriela Ruse and Coco Gauff respectively. The fifth seed will open her title defense at Indian Wells in the second round against Martincova after getting a bye in the first round.
Martincova has steadily improved her game over the past few months, moving to a career-high ranking of World No. 40 last month. After a disappointing Australian summer, the Czech reached the quarterfinals in St. Petersburg and defeated Elina Svitolina on her way to the third round in Doha, where she lost to Ons Jabeur.
The 27-year-old set up the encounter with Badosa after a straight-sets win over Heather Watson in the first round.
Paula Badosa vs Tereza Martincova head-to-head
The second-round encounter at Indian Wells will be the first tour-level encounter between the two. Overall, this is the fourth match between the two players when taking into account qualifying and ITF events. Martincova leads the head-to-head 3-0 over Badosa.
The Czech player triumphed over Badosa in the qualifying rounds of Ostrava in 2020 and in Acapulco in 2018. Martincova also defeated the Spaniard in the final of the W25 ITF event in Essen in 2019.
Paula Badosa vs Tereza Martincova prediction
Given her superior ranking and recent history, Badosa will come into the match against Martincova as the heavy favorite.
The Spaniard has a crucial 1000 points to defend at Indian Wells and will look to find the form she showed five months ago when she took the title after defeating three Major champions -- Barbora Krejcikova, Angelique Kerber, and Victoria Azarenka.
However, as their head-to-head suggests, there are clear aspects of Martincova's game that disrupt the 24-year-old's rhythm. The Czech's reliable grounstrokes and defensive skills work well on hardcourt.
That said, the conditions at Indian Wells suit Badosa, who can use her aggressive baseline game to put pressure on the Czech. The Spaniard also has the ability to stay patient and pull the trigger at the right time. Badosa's consistency and vast improvements in her game since her last match against Martincova would suggest she makes the next round in routine fashion.
Prediction: Paula Badosa in straight sets.