By Tony Fairbairn
- Daniil Medvedev [5] v Brandon Nakashima
- Belinda Bencic [9] v Jil Teichmann
- Andrey Rublev [6] v Jiri Lehecka
INDIAN WELLS, USA – Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev face stern second round tests as the world’s top players enter the action on day three of Indian Wells.
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Daniil Medvedev [5] v Brandon Nakashima | H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Daniil Medvedev [5] v Brandon Nakashima | H2H: First Meeting |
| Indian Wells | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $30,885 |
| First night match on Stadium 1, not before 6pm (2am GMT, Saturday) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
After being knocked out of the world’s top ten, Daniil Medvedev has responded in emphatic fashion as he is now on the verge of the world’s top five. Medvedev has won three consecutive titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai with the fifth seed being the man to beat on the ATP circuit. Now Medvedev will look to continue to establish his dominance ahead of the worst part of the season for him on the European clay courts.
First up for Medvedev in Californian is talented American Brandon Nakashima after the 21 year-old produced a great returning performance to beat John Isner. After a positive ending to last season, Nakashima has been disappointing to start the new season and will hope that the momentum hasn’t disappeared completely. Now with favourable conditions, Nakashima will look to achieve a victory that could kickstart his 2023 season.
This will be a tough match for Medvedev especially given that the slow Californian hard courts mixed with high bouncing balls neutralises his playing style. Nakashima will look to use depth and accuracy to force the unforced errors from Medvedev’s racket and force the fifth seed into erratic decision-making. Ultimately, Medvedev’s return qualities and power from the baseline should be too much for Nakashima even if it goes the distance.
Prediction: Medvedev in three sets.
Belinda Bencic [9] v Jil Teichmann | H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Belinda Bencic [9] v Jil Teichmann | H2H: Tied at 1-1 |
| Indian Wells | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $30,885 |
| First on Stadium 2 at 11am (7pm GMT) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Belinda Bencic is another player who is having a remarkable season so far with her partnership with Dmitry Tursunov turning into a successful one. The Swiss has already won two titles this season and is looking more and more confident with each passing week. However Bencic will know that she can’t be complacent and winning the title at Indian Wells will arguably be the biggest title of her career and there will be no bigger motivation then proving that she can win a Grand Slam style tournament.
Bencic will face familiar opposition in the opening round as she takes on her Billie Jean King Cup teammate Jil Teichmann. Teichmann can be a tricky and stubborn baseliner with a variety mixed in her game which can cause any player to feel uncomfortable. However Teichmann is short in confidence and form with a win over Bencic potentially being the result she needs to kickstart her season.
This will be a tough match for Bencic as these conditions don’t really suit her game style and it’s a match that Teichmann can use to grind Bencic’s power game down. Having said that, Bencic’s confidence makes her favourite here and as long as the ninth seed can make good decisions and control her power, then she should advance into the next round.
Prediction: Bencic in three sets.
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Andrey Rublev [6] v Jiri Lehecka | H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Andrey Rublev [6] v Jiri Lehecka | H2H: Tied at 1-1 |
| Indian Wells | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $30,885 |
| Second night match on Stadium 3, not before 6:30pm (2:30am GMT, Saturday) | Amazon Prime Video <– Sign up for trial |
Andrey Rublev continues to be the enigma of the ATP tour as it’s unknown which version will turn up when. The sixth seed heads into Indian Wells in good current form having reached the final in Dubai. However Rublev has also produced some underwhelming performances this season and now the world number seven looks to find some consistency heading into the clay court season.
However a very tricky opening round awaits in the form of Jiri Lehecka who is still continuing his form from the Australian Open. Lehecka has started the season by beating some of the world’s top players and has proved that he feels most comfortable at the biggest tournaments in the world. Lehecka will look to continue serving big and upsetting seeds as he looks to have a big breakthrough season.
The conditions at Indian Wells will suit Rublev’s game more as he can pick the angles and play smart, powerful tennis to neutralise Lehecka’s big serving game. The Czech Republican will look to be aggressive and finish point off at the net. In the end Rublev should edge through to the third round but this will be a stern test of Rublev’s patience.
Prediction: Rublev in three sets.
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