Coming off a Davis Cup battle between their countries last weekend, Alexander Zverev and Ivan Dodig will meet during first-round action in Indian Wells on Wednesday. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez and Ernests Gulbis are also set for an opening match.
Ivan Dodig vs. Alexander Zverev
Zverev and Dodig will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in round one of the BNP Paribas Open on Friday. Their only previous meeting came last summer in U.S. Open qualifying, with Zverev getting the job done 7-6(4), 7-5. The 58th-ranked German has been in fine form for the most part this season, but he is coming off a rough Davis Cup weekend. Zverev lost a five-setter to Tomas Berdych on the opening day before getting blown out in the decisive fifth rubber 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 by Lukas Rosol.
Dodig had a lighter Davis Cup load, as he contested only the doubles rubber against Belgium for the victorious Croatian side. The world No. 79 has been faring decently in singles this year, having qualified for two tournaments and advancing one round in the main draw in both Brisbane and Rotterdam. He also finished runner-up at a Challenger event in Canberra. At this Indian Wells event in 2015, Dodig beat Joao Sousa before losing a thriller against David Ferrer. This is a good opportunity for the veteran against an opponent who may still be reeling from his Davis Cup shortcomings.
Pick: Dodig in 3
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Ernests Gulbis vs. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez
In 2015, Gulbis did not win a single match until Indian Wells. He arrived in the desert with an 0-5 record before finally getting on the scoreboard with a second-round victory over Daniel Gimeno-Traver (he promptly lost to Adrian Mannarino in the last 32). Gulbis at least has a few wins under his belt already this season, having advanced one round in Montpellier and Marseille in addition to successful qualification in Rotterdam.
Up first for the world No. 71 on Friday is a fourth career meeting with Garcia-Lopez. The head-to-head series stands at 2-1 in favor of Gulbis, who most recently defeated Garcia-Lopez 4-6, 6-3, 6-0 in the 2013 St. Petersburg title match. Garcia-Lopez just barely missed out on Indian Wells seeding at No. 38 in the world. The 32-year-old Spaniard is a mediocre 5-6 for his 2016 campaign and is on a three-match losing streak dating back to the Sofia quarterfinals. Garcia-Lopez should be playing well enough to keep enough balls in play to the Gulbis forehand to eventually come out on top of a competitive affair.
Pick: Garcia-Lopez in 3
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who ya got?
Gulbis for the Upset
Dodig has played horrible in singles whenever I’ve seen him this year, I cant possibly imagine him winning against zverev, even if he isn’t a 100%. zverev should win this in 2.
gulbis wins in 3
Dodig will pull off the upset
GGL in three and dodig in three
Actually I have dodig in two in the full picks page. Either way I think he’s gonna win.
Agree with Ricky about Sascha playing too much last weekend for Germany. Dodig in 3.
GGL in 3 is probably the right pick but I voted Gulbis, as I will all season 😀
Gulbis for some strange reason and Zverev… whenever I go against him he seems to win so we will see
hey boys…Zverev tried to give it away in the first set…but Dodig was too poor to finish it!
Watched parts of the last set. Setscha got it. woot! Hope Ricky was there.
He plays Dimitrov next. ?
I thought dodig would get it cuz Zverev played poor at Davis cup. Dodig is usually good at taking advantage with that kind of opportunity. Happy for Zverev though. Dimi could have his hands full.