Paula Badosa won last year's Indian Wells event by defeating Azarenka in the final and Navratilova previewed her chances and that of her compatriot Muguruza.
Badosa had a tremendous run last year at the Indian Wells comfortably outplaying most of her opponents. The final saw an epic battle between her and Azarenka with the Spaniard ultimately prevailing. Speaking from her Miami home, Navratilova previewed the chances of the Spaniard to do it again:
"Look, I love everything about her. I love her attitude, her mindset. She’s a complete player, maybe 95 percent complete. She can improve transition, getting to the net. She’ll be pumped to get back there so early – you usually don’t get to defend your title five months later. She’ll be brimming with confidence. She knows the court at Indian Wells and she backed it up with her showing at [the WTA Finals] in Guadalajara."
TUrning her attention to Muguruza, Navratilova said:
"She needs to pretend she’s back in Guadalajara! Her game translates better to the faster courts, like Miami, like grass and even the French – Roland Garros is playing faster than some hard courts. She seems to be a bit of a confidence player. She found it somehow in Guadalajara, almost talked herself into it. It’s a pattern we’ve seen when she wins a major and then it sort of slips away. She’s probably got a better shot in Miami, but it could happen in Indian Wells, too."