The rest of the second-round matches are played on the fourth day in Indian Wells. This includes three-time Grand Slam runner-up Casper Ruud’s contest, which is one of four predicted in this article. We at LWOT predict the other ATP matches in separate articles, including Holger Rune vs Milos Raonic and Novak Djokovic vs Aleksandar Vukic. But which players do you think will win?
ATP Indian Wells Day 4 Predictions
Sebastian Korda vs Roman Safiullin
Head-to-head: Safiullin 1-0 Korda
Hopefully, Korda is fully fit for this one. He had to retire from his quarterfinal in Dubai against Andrey Rublev with an injury. Safiullin broke a streak of five consecutive losses in his opening round triumph against Dan Evans. The Russian can be very difficult to play when he finds his range and this is a dangerous start to the tournament for Korda. Overall, the slow and high-bouncing conditions in Indian Wells should suit Korda more, but the American needs to be on his game.
Prediction: Korda in 2
Luca Nardi vs Zhizhen Zhang
Head-to-head: First meeting
Nardi plays this match as a lucky loser. He is yet to qualify for the main-draw of a Grand Slam or ATP event this season but benefited from last year’s French Open quarterfinalist Tomas Martin Etcheverry withdrawing from the Indian Wells Open. Zhang managed to win a very close first-round contest against Aleksandar Kovacevic. However, it was a physically intense match. Zhang may seek to shorten the points after that long battle, and he does possess the powerful game to do it. A Nardi win is not out of the question, but I will back the more established Zhang to find a way to prevail again in Indian Wells.
Prediction: Zhang in 2
Arthur Fils vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Head-to-head: Davidovich Fokina 2-1 Fils
This is fascinating matchup between two terrific shotmakers. The pair played three times last season. The Spaniard beat Fils at the French Open and Wimbledon, but the 19-year-old triumphed in their only hard court meeting in Shanghai in October. This is a very difficult match to call. Both players are capable of hitting through the slow and high-bouncing conditions in Indian Wells and causing each other problems. My instinct is that the Frenchman will edge it, but in truth, this is a complete tossup.
Prediction: Fils in 3
Casper Ruud vs Lukas Klein
Head-to-head: First meeting
Ruud enters his first match in Indian Wells with momentum. He was the runner-up in his last two tournaments in Los Cabos and Acapulco. Although it was frustrating for him to miss out on the title on both occasions, there are strong signs that 2024 could be a stronger season than last year for the Norwegian. Klein won 90% of points on his first serve in the opening round, and he will need to serve excellently again to trouble Ruud. But the conditions in Indian Wells suit the No. 9 seed’s game well, and I expect him to start strongly with a win.
Prediction: Ruud in 2
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
