By Tony Fairbairn
- Jannik Sinner [3] v Ben Shelton [16]
- Angelique Kerber [PR] v Caroline Wozniacki [WC]
- Alexander Zverev [6] v Alex De Minaur [10]
INDIAN WELLS, USA – Jannik Sinner aims to continue his recent winning streak when he takes on Ben Shelton for a place in the Indian Wells quarter-finals.
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Jannik Sinner [3] v Ben Shelton [16] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Jannik Sinner [3] v Ben Shelton [16] | H2H: Tied at 1-1 |
| Indian Wells 2024 | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $101,000 |
| Fourth on Stadium One (Not before 01:00 GMT) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
Jannik Sinner’s momentum and confidence continues to grow with every tournament after victory over Jan-Lennard Struff made it 17 competitive wins in a row. The Italian has not lost since his defeat in the final of the Nitto ATP Finals to Novak Djokovic with Sinner winning the last ten sets he has completed. The world number three’s game has continued to get better with every match as there are no clear weaknesses with there being potential for his game to get better with every tournament. Now Sinner will look to win Indian Wells and capitalize on Djokovic’s shock exit to compatriot Luca Nardi.
Next for the Australian Open champion is big-serving American Ben Shelton. The 16th seed is enjoying the bouncy conditions in California with his serve doing a lot of damage in Indian Wells so far. Two three set wins over Jakub Mensik and Francisco Cerundolo have shown Shelton’s resilience and ability to perform in clutch moments as he searches for his first big result since reaching the US Open semi-finals at the end of last year.
Sinner will aim to use a mixture of depth and angles to open up the court, forcing the American into tactical errors. Meanwhile Shelton will look to use his serve to dictate the tempo of the rallies as he aims to finish points off at the net. This should be a big test for Sinner and his confidence as Shelton has all the qualities to defeat Sinner. However the Italian should come through a tight match which will see the tennis balls become the main loser of this contest.
Prediction: Sinner in three sets.
Angelique Kerber [PR] v Caroline Wozniacki [WC] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Angelique Kerber [PR] v Caroline Wozniacki [WC] | H2H: Kerber leads 8-7 |
| Indian Wells 2024 | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $101,000 |
| Fourth on Stadium Two (Not before 01:00 GMT) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
It’s been a sensational tournament for former finalist Angelique Kerber as the German backed up her win over the in-form Jelena Ostapenko with victory over Veronika Kudermetova. Since the German’s comeback to tennis after becoming a mother, Kerber has struggled to find confidence in her game but this seems to be the tournament where her fortunes change with Indian Wells being the perfect conditions for Kerber to thrive in. Now the multiple time Grand Slam champion will look for another good win in her bid to climb up the rankings.
Next for Kerber is another returning mother who is starting to build momentum in the form of good friend, Caroline Wozniacki. The Dane backed up her win over Donna Vekic with a three set win over Katie Volynets and has been playing some flawless counter-attacking tennis in order to wear out her opposition. Now Wozniacki will look to go one better than her US Open run at the end of last year and reach the quarter-finals at Indian Wells.
Kerber will be hoping to be the player to accelerate the rallies as she looks to use the forehand in order to produce space on the court. Meanwhile Wozniacki will be aiming to use her returning qualities to get the first strike in the rally as she will look to prevent Kerber from turning defence into attack. Both players play a similar style so this should be a tactical match. Given Wozniacki was limping on her day off, the advantage has to go to Kerber but this could be a classic contest if both players are at their best.
Prediction: Kerber in three sets.
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Alexander Zverev [6] v Alex De Minaur [10] H2H & Match Fundamentals
| Alexander Zverev [6] v Alex De Minaur [10] | H2H: Zverev leads 6-2 |
| Indian Wells 2024 | Indian Wells, USA |
| Hard (O) | Prize Money: $101,000 |
| Third on Stadium Two (21:30 GMT) | Sky/Now TV <- Subscription Required |
After a heartbreaking five set defeat in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, Alexander Zverev has struggled for form. The German has only won two matches and suffered an opening round defeat in Acapulco. However Zverev will be satisfied with his week so far and will now aim for a place in the quarter-finals as he is determined to show his progress at big events starting with a deep run at Indian Wells.
That progress will be put to the test against an in-form Alex De Minaur who entered Indian Wells having won the Acapulco title. It has been an incredible start to the season for the Australian who broke into the world’s top ten for the first time in his career this season as well as having defeated Djokovic at the start of the year. Now the Australian will look to translate the spell of success he is having from the lower events to the bigger tournaments starting with Indian Wells.
Zverev will search for free points on serve as he looks to use depth from the forehand to cause De Minaur problems. Meanwhile the Australian will aim to cause Zverev problems on the backhand side as he aims to be clinical on return. This will be a tight match but De Minaur’s recent confidence makes him slight favourite heading into this match.
Prediction: Zverev in three sets.
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