Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Machac is not only a matchup between two generations at the ATP Indian Wells Masters, but also completely different styles of hitting the ball. Will it be the early timing of the Czech taking over or can the veteran use the Indian Wells conditions to his advantage and blast his opponent off the court with his overwhelming power? In three separate articles, we have predictions featuring Rafael Nadal vs. Milos Raonic, Gael Monfils vs. Max Purcell, and Denis Shapovalov vs. Botic van de Zandschulp. Who do you think will advance to the second round?
ATP Indian Wells Day 2 Predictions
Arthur Fils vs Nuno Borges
Head-to-head: 1-1
Arthur Fils beat Nuno Borges 6-2 6-0 in Auckland earlier this year, but it doesn’t seem clear-cut that it will happen again here. That’s mostly due to the Frenchman’s Golden Swing performances with that part of the season going completely awry for him, even including a right thigh issue in Santiago. Both players should like court profile in Indian Wells with heavy topspin on their strokes. Fils is the favorite but last month must have been a hit to his confidence.
Prediction: Fils in 3
Shintaro Mochizuki vs Aleksandar Vukic
Head-to-head: Vukic 1-0
Aleksandar Vukic is 1-6 for the year and it looks like as quick as his emergence to the main tour was with the runs in South Korea and the Atlanta final, he might also fall off very soon. But when he received a nice draw in Los Cabos with Rodrigo Pacheco Mendez, he was able to take it. Shintaro Mochizuki qualified but remains a bit far from main tour quality in the long run. It’s a must-win for match for Vukic and not taking chances like this will have drastic consequences for him in the near future.
Prediction: Vukic in 3
Fabio Fognini vs Bernabe Zapata Miralles
Head-to-head: Zapata Miralles 1-0
Bernabe Zapata Miralles is 2-8 in 2024 and has fallen to World No. 144 in the ATP Rankings after losing almost all of his Golden Swing points. It’s going to be a long grind back. Indian Wells is one of the rare hard courts on the main tour he could actually succeed at, but is he going to be able to muster up anything right now? Fabio Fognini should be the clear favorite for this clash as his quality is still there and Zapata Miralles has been out of sorts.
Prediction: Fognini in 2
Stan Wawrinka vs Tomas Machac
Head-to-head: Machac 1-0
Tomas Machac is showing his quality of the main tour almost every week now and that includes a win over Stan Wawrinka in Stockholm last year. Here the conditions will be a little more favorable to the veteran, who will get all the time in the world to tune in his power groundstrokes. The 2017 runner-up tried the Golden Swing in February, but only managed one win despite playing at a pretty high standard. Machac is probably the favorite anyway despite the conditions.
Prediction: Machac in 3
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
