Indian Wells 2025: Leylah Fernandez vs Jaqueline Cristian preview, head-to-head, prediction and pick | BNP Paribas Open

Match Details

Fixture: (27) Leylah Fernandez vs Jaqueline Cristian

Date: March 8

Tournament: BNP Paribas Open (Indian Wells 2025)

Round: Second Round (Round of 64)

Venue: Indian Wells Tennis Garden, California, USA

Category: WTA 1000

Surface: Hardcourt (outdoor)

Prize Money: $9,693,540

Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Sky Sports | Canada - DAZN

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Leylah Fernandez vs Jaqueline Cristian preview

Leylah Fernandez will open her 2025 Indian Wells campaign with an intriguing second-round encounter against Jaqueline Cristian.

Fernandez, the 25th seed at this year’s tournament, has had an underwhelming start to the year. After playing at the United Cup, she made early exits at the Adelaide International and the Australian Open. The Canadian picked up a few good wins in Abu Dhabi and Doha, even scoring a top-10 win over Emma Navarro.

A first-round exit in Dubai followed and the Canadian will be keen on improving her 9-6 win-loss record for the season by posting a good run in Indian Wells.

Cristian posted good numbers on serve in her opener. (Source: Getty)

Cristian, meanwhile, will also be eyeing her first real big result this season after a mixed start to the year. A solid third-round showing at the Australian Open was the last good result for the Romanian, who will be looking to post back-to-back main draw wins for the first time since Melbourne.

Her opener saw Cristian post good numbers on serve as she came through a tricky Veronika Kudermetova in straight sets 6-2, 6-3. She will hope to build on that result.

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Leylah Fernandez vs Jaqueline Cristian head-to-head

Fernandez and Cristian have never crossed paths before, so their head-to-head stands tied at a 0-0 deadlock.

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Leylah Fernandez vs Jaqueline Cristian odds

Player Name	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games
Jaqueline Cristian	TBD	TBD	TBD
Leylah Fernandez	TBD	TBD	TBD

(Odds to be updated when available)

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Leylah Fernandez vs Jaqueline Cristian prediction

Fernandez is looking for her 10th win of the season. Source: Getty

Indian Wells has not been a particularly happy hunting ground for either Leylah Fernandez or Jaqueline Cristian, who enjoy playing on quicker courts more.

In fact, Cristian’s win over Kudermetova was her first at the tournament. An aggressive baseliner, the Romanian likes to go for her shots but is also prone to making too many errors when pushed out of her comfort zone.

Fernandez does have a better record at the venue but is yet to progress past the fourth round. The Canadian will fancy her chances of making a good start given that she likes playing against pace.

Her unwillingness to back down from the baseline makes Fernandez a dangerous opponent. She will need to find a balance between being aggressive and keeping her own error count in check. And if she can do that, the seeded player may just have enough in the tank to weather the Cristian storm.

Prediction: Fernandez to win in three sets