The remaining second-round matches will be completed on Sunday at the ATP Indian Wells Masters. A number of star names are set to take to the court and, as ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the schedule, including Matteo Berrettini vs Alejandro Tabilo, Andy Murray vs Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Albert Ramos Vinolas. But who will advance?
ATP Indian Wells Day 4 Predictions
Cristian Garin vs Ernesto Escobedo
Head-to-head: first meeting
We’ve seen this movie a few times from Ernesto Escobedo this year – he looks great in a couple of early wins and then gets a matchup he should have a very good chance in, but suddenly flops. However, the American has been playing really well in Indian Wells again, not dropping a single set coming through the qualifying.
Cristian Garin hasn’t played since a blowout loss to Norbert Gombos in a Davis Cup tie a couple of weeks ago. That came in extremely fast indoor conditions and he should have an easier time translating his game to the slow high-bouncing hard courts of Indian Wells. That still doesn’t make the task of facing Escobedo’s deadly serve and forehand combination easy in any way. The slight underdog should have a shot here.
Prediction: Escobedo in 3
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Kevin Anderson vs Lorenzo Sonego
Head-to-head: first meeting
Kevin Anderson goes from a great performance to a very poor one these days. Even in times of trouble, he’s still got that monstrous serve to rely on, but his baseline game has definitely declined, he’s also constantly experiencing health issues. What can we expect from the South African then? He’s had a few good runs at Indian Wells in his prime and that wasn’t by accident. The higher bounce helps him not to have to bend the knees so much and only a few players can grab as many free points as he can. Along with Lorenzo Sonego’s rather unimpressive form of late, that’s should be enough for the South African to score a gig one.
Prediction: Anderson in 3
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Emilio Gomez vs Pablo Carreno Busta
Head-to-head: first meeting
Emilio Gomez looked mightily impressive in the qualifying at the ATP Indian Wells Masters, but this is going to be a massive step up in quality. The Ecuadorian also hasn’t really faced a similar opponent yet, Facundo Bagnis certainly cannot rally from the ground as well as Pablo Carreno Busta. The Spaniard tends to fly under the radar but he’s made incredible runs on hard courts this year (again) and doesn’t play nearly as defensively as some people seem to think. Gomez doesn’t really have the weapons to hurt him, so Carreno Busta should have it easy enough to move the ball around the court with his forehand.
Prediction: Carreno Busta in 2
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Pedro Martinez vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
Head-to-head: Tsitsipas 1-0
Stefanos Tsitsipas has a 1-2 win/loss record in Indian Wells, but as the tournament wasn’t organized last year, we can probably consider it a too small sample size case. On paper, these conditions should work for him quite well with this about as close to clay-court tennis as it gets on the asphalt thanks to the slow pace and high bounce. His one-handed backhand handles high-bouncing balls the best on tour and the extra time afforded should give him the chance to rally unleash. This is not that easy of a matchup, however, as Pedro Martinez defends really well but can also dictate the play with his forehand. Tsitsipas’ rally tolerance will probably get tested, but he can win points in a lot of different ways. Free points on serve is yet another category where he should have a healthy lead.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 2
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