Day 2 at the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the season, in Indian Wells, won’t feature the seeds yet, but it will surely give us plenty of high quality action and very tight matches with unpredictable outcomes. There will be plenty of lower ranked American players in action, as well as some veterans of the circuit like Richard Gasquet and Fabio Fognini. As always here at LWOT, we also predict the rest of the day’s matches, split between three articles. One features Stan Wawrinka vs Aleksandar Vukic, the second highlights Dominic Thiem vs Adrian Mannarino, and the third features Andy Murray vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
ATP Indian Wells Day 2 Predictions
Leandro Riedi vs Jack Draper
Head-to-head: first meeting
Riedi had a great qualifying run and he will have a decent chance here. Draper had a very good 2022 season and should be able to rise even more this year, but he’s also notably streaky and the slow Indian Wells courts are unlikely to do any favours to his game. He should still be able to pull through this first round.
Prediction: Draper in 3
Borna Gojo vs Richard Gasquet
Head-to-head: first meeting
Gasquet has impressively built his ranking back up, all the way to #43; the almost 37-year-old is actually the French #1 right now and won a title this year already in Auckland. Gojo has been having a good run at Challenger level, but the veteran Frenchman should find a way to pull through here.
Prediction: Gasquet in 3
Mackenzie McDonald vs Filip Krajinovic
Head-to-head: McDonald 1-0 Krajinovic
McDonald started the season in style, notching the biggest win of his career over Rafael Nadal in Australia. He backed that up with a run to the semifinals in Delray Beach and quarterfinals in Acapulco and looks generally primed for a solid season. Krajinovic, on the other hand, has been struggling, having lost five of his last six matches, a trend he’ll be trying to reverse here.
Prediction: McDonald in 2
Ben Shelton vs Fabio Fognini
Head-to-head: first meeting
Shelton had a fantastic run at the Australian Open, all the way to the quarterfinals, and looks poised for a real breakthrough season. Fognini, on the other hand, is long past his best days and it’s highly unlikely that he will ever again be a factor at Masters 1000 level. The young American should ease through to the second round.
Prediction: Shelton in 2
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
