The first Indian Wells to be played without the ‘Big 3’ in 21 years is underway. Despite the absence of a few big names, the tournament promises to bring must-see tennis to fans around the world from the outset. Several new Masters 1000 champions have been crowned in 2021 and Indian Wells may well see another. The slower courts at Indian Wells should make things interesting by allowing traditional clay courters to be more competitive here. Whether the likes of Casper Ruud and Lorenzo Musetti can make a deep run here remains to be seen. For now, we take a look at who should move on from Friday’s matches in our ATP Indian Wells Day 2 predictions.
As always, we predict all of the day’s matches. We split the 16 matches between four articles, including this one. One features Andy Murray vs Adrian Mannarino, another Dominik Koepfer vs Emil Ruusuvuori, and the third highlights John Millman vs Jack Sock.
ATP Indian Wells Day 2 Predictions
Christopher Eubanks vs Egor Gerasimov
Head-to-head: First meeting
Christopher Eubanks has done well to qualify here. However, the American doesn’t have much to offer outside of a huge serve. That can be a great weapon on hard courts – ask John Isner – but won’t yield as many easy points on the slower courts of Indian Wells. His opponent, Egor Gerasimov, is the better player in pretty much every other aspect. If he can get the American moving, this should be a straightforward win for the Belarusian. Gerasimov played well last week in Sofia, and should continue that form with a win here.
Prediction: Gerasimov in 2
Lorenzo Musetti vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas
Head-to-head: First meeting
Two clay-courters face off in what could be quite an enticing first round match. Musetti has fallen off drastically from the brilliance he displayed in the first half of this year. Some off that drop off is due to the clay court season ending. However, his game has dropped in general and he will need to pick it up again if he wants to end the year well. He faces a tricky customer in Albert Ramos-Vinolas. The Spaniard has made a good career for himself out of dominating on clay. He should still be dangerous on the slower courts of Indian Wells as well. If Musetti can get going he has more weapons at his disposal and more power, both of which will help here. If he can’t, Ramos-Vinolas will win this and probably do so comfortably given how poor the Italian has been in recent weeks. I expect the latter given Musetti’s form in recent weeks.
Prediction: Ramos-Vinolas in 3
Jan-Lennard Struff vs Elahi Galan
Head-to-head: First meeting
This is an intriguing matchup for Jan-Lennard Struff. The German is competent on clay courts and hard courts so won’t mind the slower conditions here. However, Elahi Galan is equally comfortable and has a very similar game to the German. Both rely on a big serve and aggressive baseline play to finish points quickly. Where Struff has a clear advantage is at the net. If he can get Galan moving and come in to finish points he should be able to ease through this match. If not, we are in for a close-fought affair that may well go the distance if both players serve well. I’d expect at least one tie-break here if they do. Neither player is in any sort of form, so Struff gets the edge here on the basis that he is the better player and will have the match on his racket.
Prediction: Struff in 3
Kevin Anderson vs Jordan Thompson
Head-to-head: 2 – 0 Anderson
A couple of years ago Kevin Anderson would have been the clear favorite here. However, the South African is firmly in the twilight of his career now. Consistent lay offs due to injuries have stopped him resurrecting what was a superb tennis career. Now he offers precious little outside of a big serve, and even that misfires more often than he would like. By contrast, Jordan Thompson remains consistent but unspectacular. The Aussie is always a tough opponent, but his inconsistent backhand and relatively weak serve make him beatable. If Anderson serves well he could edge this in a tight one. If he doesn’t, Thompson has enough in the locker to make life difficult for the South African off the ground and should move on. Anderson is rusty and short of matches so I expect Thompson to move on here.
Prediction: Thompson in 2
Main Photo from Getty.
