American Sebastian Korda battles qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis in his opener at the Tennis Garden. Meanwhile, Borna Coric makes his return to tennis in Indian Wells after a year-long surgery layoff against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Sebastian Korda vs. (Q) Thanasi Kokkinakis
With the qualifiers sorted and slotted into the draw, the Indian Wells first round serves up a rematch of American Sebastian Korda and Thanasi Kokkinakis. Korda is up to a career-high No. 38 in the world, while Kokkinakis has clawed his way back in the top 100 at No. 97. On paper this looks like a tasty opening-round match, but their last encounter was an outright shellacking. The two men met in Delray Beach last month; Korda handed the Australian a 6-4, 6-1 loss.
Since Kokkinakis came up through qualifying and has some match play at the Tennis Garden already, this one could be closer than last time. Still, Korda’s game is the steady sort that feeds nicely off Kokkinakis’ inconsistency. Despite Korda’s recent problems serving out matches when he’s up a break–which happened in Delray Beach and Acapulco–it seems unlikely that the Kokkinakis brand of running wildly hot then cold will be enough to get past the American.
Cheryl pick: Korda in 2
Ricky pick: Korda in 2
(PR) Borna Coric vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Borna Coric’s last event was a full year ago in Rotterdam, where he made the semifinals. A couple weeks later, the Croat underwent right shoulder surgery and spent the rest of the 2021 season and the start of 2022 recovering and rehabilitating. The 25-year-old is going to have some serious rust to shake off in his opener against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Davidovich Fokina is a less heralded but still talented member of the current crop of early 20-somethings breaking through. The Spaniard is ranked 45th in the world, with a standout performance at the French Open last year–when he made the quarters. His start to the 2022 season has been underwhelming so far, with a quarterfinal in Doha as his best effort.
This is a tricky match to predict. Much will depend on how quickly Coric can work himself back into form. A year is a long time to go without playing a match. And although Coric reports that he has no more shoulder pain, match fitness is not guaranteed. While Davidovich Fokina isn’t as intimidating a first opponent as some others might be, he has had plenty of matches in 2022 and should be swinging freely.
Cheryl pick: Davidovich Fokina in 3
Ricky pick: Davidovich Fokina in 2
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