There should be plenty of entertaining tennis on day one at the ATP Indian Wells Masters with 14 intriguing first-round matches on the schedule. As always, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match on the slate in the Californian desert. But who will reach the round of 64?
ATP Indian Wells Day 1 Predictions
Jenson Brooksby vs Roberto Carballes Baena
Head-to-head: Brooksby 1-0 Carballes Baena
Jenson Brooksby might seem like the heavy favourite coming into this match after his recent run of success on hard courts, but the Spaniard should not be underestimated here. He is a seasoned pro, with one ATP title to his name and has reached the second round twice in his last two trips to the ATP Indian Wells Masters. He also comes into this event fresh from reaching the final at a Challenger on Gran Canaria, albeit on European clay.
Brooksby, meanwhile, has endured a frustrating start to the season. He missed the Australian Open, before returning to action at the Columbus Challenger, where he reached the semifinals. He backed that up by making the final in Dallas, but he has not played since. Still, he is the better hard-court player of these two. Carballes Baena has the quality to push him, he did just that in their only previous meeting in Paris last year, but Brooksby came out on top there and should do again here.
Prediction: Brooksby in 2
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Kwon Soon-woo vs Laslo Djere
Head-to-head: Kwon 1-0 Djere
Long rallies will likely be the order of the day here. Neither man is blessed with the power to hit through opponents with ease, but both cover the court very well and typically give little away from the baseline. But Kwon Soon-woo has several advantages coming into this match which should prove decisive. Most importantly, this match will be played on a hard court, which is his best surface, whilst Laslo Djere is far more comfortable on the clay.
The Serbian is also without a win since reaching the quarterfinals at the ATP Adelaide International in the first week of the season. Kwon has not been in particularly sparkling form himself, but he has at least been winning matches. He also beat Djere in their only previous meeting, which came in Nur-Sultan last season, emerging a 7-6 2-6 6-0 winner after a see-sawing contest. He may have to go the distance again, but expect him to have too much for the Serbian.
Prediction: Kwon in 3
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Juan Manuel Cerundolo vs Jack Sock
Head-to-head: first meeting
A brief glance at the stats sheet might suggest that this is a mis-match. After all, Jack Sock has a career-high ranking of world #8, 174 wins and four titles at tour-level, and a prize money haul of over $11 million. Juan Manuel Cerundolo, meanwhile, has only played 16 tour-level matches in his career, though he has won a title, and is yet to surpass $500,000 in prize money. But Sock is a shadow of the player he once was. The American has lost the explosiveness that defined him, and that would have served him so well in this matchup. Without it, in conditions as slow and heavy as those in Indian Wells, the clay-court specialist Cerundolo might well be able to grind Sock down.
Prediction: Cerundolo in 3
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Federico Coria vs Pablo Cuevas
Head-to-head: Coria 2-2 Cuevas
Pablo Cuevas has enjoyed a superb career, but it is not clear how much longer the Uruguayan will be able to compete at the highest level. He started his season during the Golden Swing – where he once enjoyed considerable success – losing in the first round twice during attempted comeback. His one win so far this year came in Davis Cup action against world #918 Ajeet Ral of New Zealand and even that was followed by a humiliating reverse against world #776 Rubin Statham.
Federico Coria, meanwhile, has never come close to replicating his elder brother’s success, but he has carved out a solid enough career for himself. He has enjoyed the majority of his success on the clay and enjoyed a successful Golden Swing, reaching back-to-back quarterfinals in Buenos Aires and Rio. He does not quite have the consistency or the weight of shot to really trouble the best in the game, but he should have more than enough to account for the struggling Cuevas.
Prediction: Coria in 2
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