Schedule and Preview Indian Wells Open 2025 Day Nine Thursday March 13 including Alcaraz-Cerundolo, Swiatek – Zheng and Draper - Shelton

The schedule for Day Nine at Indian Wells has been confirmed for Thursday, March 13, marking the start of the Quarterfinals in both the men’s and women’s draws.

Key matches include the 2-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz against Francisco Cerundolo; defending champion Iga Swiatek facing Zheng Qinwen and Jack Draper against Ben Shelton.

Two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev has made it to the quarterfinals despite an inconsistent performance in the previous weeks. The Russian, however, claimed a revitalizing victory over Tommy Paul (10th) 6-4, 6-0, which brings him full of confidence into the final eight. He will face 20-year-old Arthur Fils, who is in his first-ever Masters 1000 quarterfinal. The Frenchman already has five wins over top-10 players and won’t be intimidated by the Russian.

The prime-time match will feature two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz against Argentine Francisco Cerundolo. Alcaraz gave a masterclass against Grigor Dimitrov, dismantling him 6-1, 6-1, continuing his superb form at Tennis Paradise. The 25th seed Cerundolo comes off a win against Alex De Minaur and has nothing to lose against the heavily favoured Spaniard. However, the Argentine has previous appearances in these stages and, as an experienced player, hopes to pull off an upset. Recently, he eliminated Alexander Zverev at the Argentina Open clay courts and will look to surprise the Spaniard again.

The day kicks off with a match between Tallon Griekspoor and Holger Rune (12th). Few would have predicted the Dutchman reaching the quarterfinals, but his wins over Alexander Zverev (1st) and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (29th) have given him enough credentials to reach this stage of a Masters for the first time in his career. On the other hand, Rune has a golden opportunity after avoiding higher-ranked opponents and is still fighting for a spot in the top-10. He seems to be the favourite to advance, especially after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in a dominant Round of 16 performance.

In the final singles match of the day at Stadium 2, Ben Shelton, the last remaining local, will try to keep the hopes alive for the home crowd. He faces the 13th seed Jack Draper, who recently eliminated World No. 4 Taylor Fritz, the 2022 Indian Wells champion. It’s an open match between two left-handers who are aiming for their first Masters semifinal.

The first match of the day in Stadium 1 will be a thrilling contest between defending champion Iga Swiatek (No. 2) and Zheng Qinwen (No. 8). This is a special matchup, as the Polish player had won the first six encounters consecutively, but the Chinese player gave her one of the biggest upsets of her career by eliminating her in the 2024 Paris semifinals, on her way to the gold medal, in the same clay courts of Roland Garros, where Swiatek has lifted her four French Open trophies. The former No. 1 has been flawless at Tennis Paradise, dropping just six games in her first three matches, but if Zheng is on her game, she’s one of the few who could pull off an upset against the Polish player.

Later in the same Stadium, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will face the impressive Liudmila Samsonova (24th seed). The 26-year-old Russian has had an excellent run, defeating Daria Kasatkina (12th) and Jasmine Paolini (6th), the latter in a dominant 6-0, 6-4 win. Sabalenka, however, has yet to face major challenges and seems very much the favourite to secure the win.

The second match of the day in Stadium 2 will feature Mirra Andreeva and Elina Svitolina. The teenager delivered a statement with her recent victory over Elena Rybakina and has now won 9 matches in a row. The 9th seed looks hard to stop, although Svitolina has her arguments, having eliminated World No. 4 Jessica Pegula. The Ukrainian also has a particular record of 8-1 against Russian players since the start of the war, which she herself has revealed as extra motivation while representing her country in these stages.

After this, an interesting encounter will take place between 2025 Australian Open champion Madison Keys (No. 5) and wildcard Belinda Bencic (No. 58). Keys is the last remaining local in the competition and comes into the match with an impressive 15-match winning streak, although her recent victories against Mertens and Vekic weren’t without their challenges. Bencic, on the other hand, is in great form after returning from pregnancy. With a 17-4 record and victories over Emma Navarro (No. 9) and Coco Gauff (No. 3) this week, she is a more than deserving quarterfinalist, and she’ll give the local a tough fight.