Second-round action in Indian Wells will wrap up on Saturday, when seeds Hubert Hurkacz and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina begin their tournaments. Hurkacz meets Gael Monfils, while Davidovich Fokina goes up against Arthur Fils.
Gael Monfils vs. (8) Hubert Hurkacz
The first three tournaments of Monfils’ season were terrible, but he is starting to pick up some momentum. Monfils has advanced at least one round in three of his last four events (including the BNP Paribas Open) and in Rotterdam he was the only player to take a set off Jannik Sinner. The 37-year-old Frenchman, who reached the semifinals in Doha, kicked off his Indian Wells campaign by destroying Max Purcell 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday.
Up next for Monfils on Saturday is third meeting with Hurkacz. They have split their two previous encounters; Monfils cruised 6-4, 6-0 at the 2019 Montreal Masters before Hurkacz prevailed 6-2, 7-6(1) a few months later at the Shanghai Masters. Hurkacz started this season on fire, leading Poland to the United Cup final before advancing to the Australian Open quarters (lost to Daniil Medvedev in five sets). However, he is just 6-4 in his last 10 matches. With Monfils playing well and conditions in Indian Wells not quite ideal for Hurkacz (he has never advanced past the quarterfinals of this event), Saturday’s showdown should be competitive. In the end, Hurkacz is generally a force in a tiebreakers thanks to his booming serve and that could be the difference in a match that is likely to be decided by small margins.
Pick: Hurkacz in 3
Arthur Fils vs. (23) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Davidovich Fokina and Fils simply cannot avoid each other in draws. They will be facing each other for the fourth time already on Thursday after squaring off three times in 2023. This will be their fourth consecutive match that is Davidovich Fokina’s first in a tournament after they collided in the opening round at both the French Open (Davidovich Fokina won in four sets) and Wimbledon (Davidovich Fokina cruised in straights) and in the second round of the Shanghai Masters (Fils prevailed 6-2, 7-5).
Fils did well to advance on Thursday, beating an in-form Nuno Borges 7-6(5), 6-2. However, the 19-year-old Frenchman is just 3-5 in his last eight matches dating back to the Auckland semifinals. Davidovich Fokina is coming off a quarterfinal showing in Dubai (lost to Medvedev) and seems to love the Indian Wells conditions. He has never dropped his opening match at this event in three previous trips and he made a run to the quarters last spring (lost to Medvedev). This should be a fun one, but pretty much all signs point to Davidovich Fokina having the edge.
Pick: Davidovich Fokina in 3
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Hurkatz in 2; ADF in 2.