The Indian Wells Masters heats up on Sunday, when Canadian star Felix Auger-Aliassime takes on Botic Van de Zandschulp. Fellow Americans Frances Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima will also be in second-round action.
(9) Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Botic van de Zandschulp
This is one of the more intriguing matches on Sunday’s docket. World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime has had a monster start to the 2022 season. He has made it to the business end of every tournament he has entered so far, with a standout result in Rotterdam–where he finally won his first tour title. He also earned a quarterfinal berth at the Australian Open, going down to finalist Daniil Medvedev in five thrilling sets.
The Canadian’s second-round opponent, Botic van de Zandschulp, also fell victim to Medvedev in Melbourne. The Dutchman broke through in 2021 at the U.S. Open and sits at a career-high 47th in the world. His star hasn’t shown as brightly as Auger-Aliassime’s thus far, but there is still plenty of promise that this could be an entertaining match.
Van de Zandschulp posted a tidy straight-set win over Tennys Sandgren in the first round, while Auger-Aliassime got a bye into the second round. The relatively slow court might have proven frustrating to the world No. 9 in the past, but since the start of the season FAA has shown far more patience on court than he has in the past.
Cheryl pick: Auger-Aliassime in 3
Ricky pick: Auger-Aliassime in 3
(28) Frances Tiafoe vs. Brandon Nakashima
Brandon Nakashima is one of a trio of young Americans (with Sebastian Korda and Jenson Brooksby) starting to make a mark in the ATP. Nakashima is the lowest ranked of the three at No. 80 in the world, but he is also the youngest at age 20. He hasn’t completely found his professional game yet, but he has plenty of potential.
Frances Tiafoe has had some wild results in the past 12 months. The American struggled at the start of 2021 but came on in the fall starting at the U.S. Open. He sits at No. 30 in the world, but a lackluster start to the 2022 season threatens his ranking again. He played three events prior to Indian Wells with exactly one match win to show for his efforts.
Tiafoe beat Nakashima the only other time they played on the main tour (last year in Acapulco), but given their respective form–and the fact that Nakashima had an excellent win over Adrian Mannarino in the first round–that win might not mean much. Tiafoe will come into this second-round match cold, having earned a first-round bye thanks to his No. 28 seeding.
Cheryl pick: Nakashima in 3
Ricky pick: Nakashima in 2
WWW?
I didn’t think Mannarino would win in the conditions.This one is 50 50 I’d say.
Quite a few upsets now. Out go FAA, Med and Tsit. Naughty Nick, Jenson Bond and dear old unpredictable Monfils all doing well.
Yes, what’s going on in IW?? The top seeds are perishing like flies, and while Rafa so far survived, he’s not playing at his recent high level. But he and Berettini are the only top seeds left in the draw, and on paper there’s no one left who could stop Rafa from winning his fourth title in a row. But there are still some dangerous trip wires left. Monfils can always be dangerous, Nick Kyrgios could do some serious damage, and Carlos Alcaraz just slaughtered his fellow Spaniard mercilessly.
Medvedev’s life on the pole position was short lived, but I guess that Monfils can beat anyone on a good day, and the conditions in IW don’t seem to favor Medvedev. He has never had a lot of success in the desert. But while losing to Monfils can happen, the current crop of young top ten players are still not exactly consistent. Their success rate against the two GOAT contenders is still patchy, and they are also prone to lose matches against lower-ranked players who have a good day.
Correction: besides Rafa and Berettini No. 10 ranked Jannik Sinner is still left. I would not be surprised though, if he will go out against Kyrgios…
Second correction: Rublev is still in, too. I have not memorized the current list of top-ten ranked players very well 😉
I doubt Old Nick will get that far. He’s never healthy enough to win a few matches in a row. I’m not sure what’s up with Tsitsi. He just isn’t having a great year despite fixing his elbow problem. Maybe his new coach isn’t working out. Rafa can win this thing if he’s healthy enough. The court suits him and he will get used to the balls. But playing Opelka won’t give him the “rhythm” he loves!
Tsit has a poor ROS, needs to sort that out pronto. Jenson Bond has an excellent whipped CC back hand return, repeatedly flummoxed Tsit. Korda also has a great ROS, taken very early.
Saw JB play for the first time, really liked him- problem solver, lots of variety and his ROS of course. Just needs to improve his net play now.