American tennis player Claire Liu will face Japan’s Mai Hontama at the 2024 WTA Indian Wells tennis tournament in an upcoming match. Liu is coming in as a moderate favorite to win this match, priced at -163 with bet365. This will be a qualifying match in the tournament, with the winner getting into the main draw at the 2024 BNB Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California later this week. My Liu vs Hontama prediction is that the former player will win this upcoming match.
Order of Play: Right-click/Open in the New Tab to check match times: subject to change
Claire Liu vs Mai Hontama Head-to-Head Series
The Liu vs Hontama h2h is 0-0 as these two players have not faced one another before. On rankings, this is the World No. 111 in Liu against the World No. 120 in Hontama. Each of these players will be keen to get into the main draw at Indian Wells, a tournament with significant ranking points in the early rounds for players of their respective rankings.
The Draw: Right-click/Open in the New Tab for the draw for the 2024 BNB Paribas Open
Claire Liu’s Recent Tennis Results
Liu knocked out a seeded player in the first round of the Indian Wells draw. She eliminated Maria Timofeeva 7-6, 6-2.
We have not seen much of the 23-year-old Liu in recent main draws. She did appear in the round of sixteen a couple of weeks ago in Puerto Vallarta. However, she lost to the World No. 153 in that round of play. In the previous round, she beat Varvara Lepchenko, a veteran on tour who is ranked well outside of the Top 200. That match included a close third set at 7-5 so it’s hard to give Liu much credit for good form right now.
During the South Pacific stage of the season, Liu went out to Coco Gauff, Daria Kasatkina, and Marta Kostyuk in three tournament entries. Liu’s opening-round matches were tough in those events but you would think if Liu was playing well, then she would have done more with her opportunities in Mexico and San Diego last week.
Mai Hontama’s Recent Tennis Results
Mai Hontama beat Laura Siegemund in the opening round of qualifying. This was an uspet as Siegemund was a -300 favorite (bet365) in the match.
So far this season, Hontama has only made the main draw of a couple of events. The Japanese player started her 2024 campaign in Brisbane but fell in round two of qualifying. She was in the Melbourne Park main draw and managed to take a set off of Barbora Krejcikova, one of the top players in the world. However, Hontama still fell in the match. In a season with few highlights so far, she qualified for the Thailand Open’s main draw but then fell in the first round. From Abu Dhabi and Doha, she went just 1-2 in qualifying draws. It’s likewise difficult to give Hontama much credit for being above her current rankings of 120.
Liu vs Hontama Prediction: Liu to win
At -163, I like Liu’s chances in this upcoming match (bet365). She is from California and Liu has performed well at Indian Wells in each of the last two seasons, winning first-round matches in each year’s opening rounds. It has taken a seeded player in the main draw to eliminate Liu in each of the last two seasons. She lost to Iga Swiatek in 2023 and Coco Gauff in 2022.
Liu has been ranked as high as the World No. 52 position on the women’s tour while Hontama has been ranked only as high as the World No. 116 position. With Liu playing in her home state in the USA, you have to think she will be looking to hit her top gear at Indian Wells this week. My recommendation is to take her at -163 (bet365) on the moneyline.
Additional reading: All previews for upcoming tennis matches!
