Day 7 at the ATP Indian Wells Masters features the Round of 16, with world #2 Daniil Medvedev taking on former ATP Tour Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov, alongside Hubert Hurkacz–who will break the top 10 next week–taking on exciting Russian Aslan Karatsev.
ATP Indian Wells Day 7 Predictions
Aslan Karatsev vs Hubert Hurkacz
Head-to-head: Karatsev 1-0
Both men have had great years so far, Hurkacz with a Miami Masters win and Wimbledon semifinal, whilst Karatsev has an ATP 500 title in Dubai alongside an Australian Open semifinal. Things have cooled down in the past few months for the Russian, but perhaps surprisingly to many he beat the Pole just a few weeks ago in San Diego in three tight sets. It’s somewhat of an interesting one because Hurkacz’s serve, arguably his biggest weapon, won’t be as effective on a court this slow but the slower courts also severely hamper the Russian’s game. Hurkacz looked stunning against Tiafoe however off the ground which is why I give him the slight edge here.
Prediction: Hurkacz in 3
Tommy Paul vs Cameron Norrie
Head-to-head: Paul 1-0
Tommy Paul came into Indian Wells on a three-match losing streak. Not only did he win three matches in a row, but he beats top 10 player Andrey Rublev as well. Talk about a change in fortune! Next up is the Brit Norrie who’s having a great year but has struggled in both his matches so far this week despite a good win against Bautista-Agut in the last round. There’s not much to choose between the two gamestyle wise and there’s no doubt rallies will be long. Ultimately, it’s going to come down to if Paul can produce the level of tennis he did against Rublev, if he can he’ll win if it’s not anywhere close he won’t.
Prediction: Paul in 2
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Diego Schwartzman vs Casper Ruud
Head-to-head: Schwartman 4-2
Don’t lead the head-to-head fool you. Despite the Argentine leading 4-2, the Norwegian has won the last two meetings, both this year, without dropping more than four games in a set. One can argue both men are lucky to be here–Schwartzman was a set and break down against Dan Evans in the last round whilst Ruud was very close to being in the same position against South African Lloyd Harris. Now both men have made it here though it’s not exactly a matchup you would expect in the last 16 of a big hardcourt tournament purely because both excel on clay more than hard. It’s going to come down to extreme grinding on both sides of the court and whoever breaks down the other will win, think of it as a clay court match on a very slow hardcourt. Given Ruud’s recent win in San Diego, he should no doubt be the favorite here just on form alone.
Prediction: Ruud in 3
Daniil Medvedev vs Grigor Dimitrov
Head-to-head: Medvedev 3-1
Out of nowhere Grigor Dimitrov put in the cleanest performance of his career with just four unforced errors, straight setting big serving Reilly Opelka in the last round. Now the task only gets harder for the Bulgarian facing the world #2 and recent US Open champion Daniil Medvedev who’s eased through his opening two matches. The Russian has won their last three encounters without dropping a single set and it’s hard to see anything but the same thing happening again here, the 25 year old simply does everything better and on a court that plays like this will be able to extract far more unforced errors out of the Bulgarian than most others. If Dimitrov shows up to the party again as he did so often years ago this could be a treat to behold but it’s hard to see that happening.
Prediction: Medvedev in 2
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