Mardy Fish will begin his comeback when he takes the court against fellow American Ryan Harrison during first-round action in Indian Wells on Thursday. Marcos Baghdatis and Jiri Vesely are also featured.
(PR) Mardy Fish vs. (WC) Ryan Harrison
Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open will see Fish in singles action for the first time since the 2013 Winston-Salem Open. What began as an apparent heart scare at the 2012 U.S. Open morphed into anxiety disorder and it sidelined the former world No. 7 for all of 2014. Fish returned to tennis earlier this season to play doubles with Mark Knowles at February’s Dallas Challenger. They won their first match before falling in the quarterfinals. The 33-year-old American is a modest 15-12 lifetime in Indian Wells with a runner-up finish to Novak Djokovic in 2008.
Up first for Fish is a fourth career contest against Harrison, with whom the veteran practice on Tuesday. Fish leads the head-to-head series 3-0 and all three of their previous meetings came on hard courts in 2011. Harrison went down in straight sets in Atlanta and in three sets at events in Los Angeles and Tokyo. Whereas Fish has been idle, Harrison is picking up steam following a disastrous 2014 campaign. The 22-year-old American is coming off a semifinal showing in Acapulco as a qualifier. It is almost impossible to know what to expect from Fish, but more likely that not his rust will show against an opponent who will require him to hit a ton of balls.
Pick: Harrison in 2
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Marcos Baghdatis vs. Jiri Vesely
Baghdatis and Vesely will be getting the night-session treatment on stadium court for their third encounter. Both of their previous tilts went Baghdatis’ way in 2014; 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in Delray Beach and 6-4, 7-5 at the Geneva Challenger. The 29-year-old Cypriot recently talked a big game about his possible resurgence and so far he is backing it up. Baghdatis is 6-3 at the ATP level this season with a third-round performance at the Australian Open and a semifinal appearance in Zagreb. He also reached the Happy Valley Challenger final before succumbing to Harrison.
Vesely fared relatively well in his first trip to the desert in 2014. He beat Igor Sijsling and Pablo Andujar then had Andy Murray on the ropes in round three only to collapse en route to a 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4 loss. The 21-year-old Czech started 2015 on fire with a title in Auckland, but he has since lost five matches in a row. Baghdatis’ confident ball-striking should be too much for a reeling opponent.
Pick: Baghdatis in 2
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