Second-round action at the ATP Indian Wells Masters continues on Day 4 of the tournament. Five-time champion Novak Djokovic is set for an emotional return to one of his happy hunting grounds, and in-form Frenchman Ugo Humbert will also look to extend his winning run. But who will reach the third round in the California desert?
ATP Indian Wells Day 4 Predictions
Patrick Kypson vs Ugo Humbert
Head-to-head: first meeting
With a 13-3 record for the year, Ugo Humbert has emerged as one of the standout performers in the first two months of the season. He’s captured two titles, including the ATP 500 in Dubai, where he defeated two top 10 players. Patrick Kypson is still a rookie on the main tour, although he did reach the quarterfinal during his last ATP tournament in Delray, beating former Top 30 player Miomir Kecmanovic. Humbert has been playing the best tennis in the past month as the ATP’s heavyweights took a rare break, so he’ll take some stopping.
Prediction: Humbert in 2
Adrian Mannarino vs Tomas Machac
Head-to-head: first meeting
Although Adrian Mannarino enters this match as the higher-ranked player and within a spot of re-entering the Top 20, his form has taken a sharp nosedive in recent weeks. He has lost three matches in a row, including a first-round defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp in Dubai. By contrast, Tomas Machac has been flying under the radar for months now and is sitting close to breaking the Top 60 for the first time. He scored a fine win over Stan Wawrinka in the opening round with his all-muscle tennis. By dint of form, expect the 23-year-old Czech to win this battle.
Prediction: Machac in 2
Cameron Norrie vs Lorenzo Sonego
Head-to-head: Sonego 1-0 Norrie
Cameron Norrie is a former champion in Indian Wells. Historically, this has been one of the slowest hard courts on tour, which favors players like Norrie, who can generate sufficient topspin from one wing and mix it up with flat ground strokes from the other wing.
But not this year, with almost everyone stating that the courts are playing pretty fast. So, players like Lorenzo Sonego stand to benefit. The Italian is a destructive ball striker and utilised his strengths to topple Miomir Kecmanovic. The Briton appears to have recovered from an energy-sapping stay in South America last month, but the fast playing surface could be his downfall this time.
Prediction: Sonego in 3
Novak Djokovic vs Aleksandar Vukic
Head-to-head: first meeting
After a five-year absence from the BNP Paribas Open, Novak Djokovic is back. You can tell he is determined to make up for lost time. Djokovic arrived much earlier for this year’s tournament to get ample preparation time. He hadn’t struck a ball since departing Melbourne. So, it was the wisest thing to do. Aleksandar Vukic is tasked with causing the upset of the tournament here. He won his first-round match and will be at ease going into Saturday’s clash. However, the inevitable outcome is that Vukic’s best tennis will still be levels below that of Djokovic.
Prediction: Djokovic in 2
Main Photo Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
