Both interesting matches that could go either way, as you would expect given the nature of the Indian Wells draw with the top players not in round 1.

 

Laura could play Goerges in R2 (based on twitter) who was the opponent for her first ever top 100 win

-- Edited by tony_orient on Monday 4th of March 2013 11:51:17 PM

Given that the top 32 seeds got byes playing against players ranked 49 and 52 respectively isn't the best but Begu as Steven pointed out might not be 100% fit and so is a decent draw. Arvidsson is not playing her best either but has a solid IW record which is something Laura can't boast admittedly only played last year.
Potential good matchup in R2 against Goerges( who Laura has been practicing with). Kerber has had a shocking year,so is also not as bad a matchup as you might think at first glance.

R1: ERAKOVIC, Marina (NZL)/WATSON, Heather (GBR) vs. KOPS-JONES, Raquel (USA)/SPEARS, Abigail (USA) [7]

Heather 1st on 3 after 11.00 am start so about 7pm UK

Laura 2nd on 2 after 11.00 am start so about 8.30 pm UK

Heather 4th on 4 in doubles so about 11.30 pm UK

-- Edited by Peter too on Thursday 7th of March 2013 01:40:35 AM

I think Heather has the better first round draw, but I agree that if Laura does find some form, this draw does present an opportunity for her to have a real impact on the tournament.
I would rate Laura at 50/50 to progress today and Heather about 60/40.

Good news is with the scheduling it won't involve staying up too late to follow their matches.

 

(she broke back...... to love)

-- Edited by Julia Carrot on Thursday 7th of March 2013 10:11:59 PM

korriban wrote:

---

Laura has a very good draw, period.

Arvidson's form not at its best, a previous win against Georges, Petrova very hit and miss in the Robson/Kvitova sense, Wozniacki after Malaysia and very vulnerable to extreme power. You could make a case for Laura to win all 4 of these matches if she plays at her best, and the opponent slightly below par. But she hasn't been at her best tennis wise or health wise for some time, so the most important thing is to see her fit, well and with a return to the movement, patience and controlled power she showed in the US last year. Everything flows from that.

Tougher draw for Heather. I hope she has started to work through this year's gremlins with her coach. I have no doubt she will find the problem, address it, and come out stronger - but these things can take a while.

I expect both girls to win a round, but after that? No idea.

 

---

 I would say that Laura has a decent draw if she can get past Arvidsson. Conditions will not suit Laura's game which will be similar to the desert conditions of the Middle East. The ball's also tend to fly more at altitude which means that if Laura is a tad off she will find it difficult to restrict the UEs. Laura played one of her best ever matches at the Fed Cup against the Swede last year and still lost even though she was the better player, so I agree with Tony that this is a 50/50 match. The ranking points on offer aren't great 50 for R1 win but only 30 for R2 win.

I strongly believe we will have to wait until Miami when conditions will suit both our players better for improved performances.

Hev has been struggling with a reoccurence of an abdominal strain she picked up in Memphis, but happily 5live reported that everything is fine in that department however this will have had an impact on her preparation and practice time. Begu is an easier opponent than Arvidsson but eventhough a solid favourite there has to be some doubt that she will come through that match.