Indian Wells QF previews and predictions: Hurkacz vs. Dimitrov, Schwartzman vs. Norrie

A couple of surprising quarterfinal contests at the Indian Wells Masters will take place on Thursday, starting with Diego Schwartzman vs. Cameron Norrie. Grigor Dimitrov, who upset Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round, is also back in action.

(23) Grigor Dimitrov vs. (8) Hubert Hurkacz

After Hurkacz destroyed Aslan Karatsev early on Wednesday, it looked like there would be a rematch of two wildly entertaining battles between Hurkacz and Daniil Medvedev from this summer (Hurkacz prevailed in five sets at Wimbledon before Medvedev won in a third-set tiebreaker in Toronto). Instead, the Pole will go up against Dimitrov in the BNP Paribas Open quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon. That’s because Dimitrov erased a 6-4, 4-1, double-break deficit against the top-seeded Russian and ended up pulling off a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 upset.

The result is a first-ever showdown between Dimitrov and Hurkacz–one in which Dimitrov is once again an underdog. Hurkacz improved to 17-3 on American hard courts this season when he trounced Karatsev 6-1, 6-3 during fourth-round action. The Miami Masters champion preceded that performance with a 6-3, 6-2 beatdown of an in-form Frances Tiafoe. These conditions are perfect for Hurkacz and it will be tough for Dimitrov to follow up such a huge victory exactly 24 hours later.

Pick: Hurkacz in 2

(21) Cameron Norrie vs. (11) Diego Schwartzman

Schwartzman and Norrie will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers on Thursday. In three previous meetings they have played a maximum total of 11 sets. Schwartzman survived 7-6(1), 6-7(3), 7-5 on the indoor hard courts of Antwerp in in 2018 before Norrie took their next two encounters–7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 two years ago in Acapulco and 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 at the 2020 U.S. Open.

Another thriller should be in the cards, which is nothing new especially for Norrie. All three of the Brit’s matches this fortnight have required final sets (vs. Tennys Sandgren, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Tommy Paul). Schwartzman battled though a pair of three-setters against Maxime Cressy and Dan Evans before he took advantage of a fatigued Casper Ruud and cruised 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday. This is a tough one to call between two in-form players, but in what will mostly be a baseline war of attrition the Brit’s ability to win a few more free points on serve could be the difference.

Pick: Norrie in 3