Indian Wells R3 previews and picks: Berdych vs. Coric, Raonic vs. Tomic

Tomas Berdych and Borna Coric will be battling for a place in the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters on Monday. A jam-packed schedule also features Milos Raonic and Bernard Tomic.

(6) Tomas Berdych vs. Borna Coric

Berdych and Coric will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in round three of the BNP Paribas Open on Monday. Their only previous meeting came last summer on the grass courts of Halle, where Berdych got the job done 6-3, 6-2. The seventh-ranked Czech was a question mark heading into this event because he sustained an adductor injury in recent Davis Cup duty and retired from a match against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber. Five days of rest, however, appear to have done some good and Berdych opened in Indian Wells by scraping past Juan Martin Del Potro 7-6(4), 6-2.

This is Coric’s best result of the season since finishing runner-up in Chennai two months ago. The 47th-ranked Croat recently won the deciding fifth rubber on the clay courts of Belgium and he has parlayed that momentum into Indian Wells victories over Lucas Pouille and Tomas Bellucci. Coric has always played great defense and he is starting to inject more offense into his well-rounded game. That being said, Berdych looked good against Del Potro and may be able to overpower his 19-year-old opponent.

Pick: Berdych in 2

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(17) Bernard Tomic vs. (12) Milos Raonic

Raonic is contesting his first tournament since the Australian Open and early returns are encouraging. The 14th-ranked Canadian has been dealing with an adductor injury that affected him in his five-set semifinal loss to Andy Murray in Melbourne. But so far in Indian Wells he is 1-0 in both singles and doubles (with John Isner). Raonic kicked off his singles campaign by disposing of Inigo Cervantes 6-1, 6-3 on Saturday.

Up next for the 12th seed is a third career showdown against Tomic. The head-to-head series stands at 2-0 in favor of Raonic, who is 4-0 in total sets against Tomic–although three have progressed to tiebreakers. Raonic prevailed 7-6(3), 6-3 at the 2014 Tokyo event and 7-6(5), 7-6(5) earlier this season in the Brisbane semifinals. Tomic is in solid form this year with 14 match victories and a recent runner-up showing in Acapulco. The 20th-ranked Australian suffered with a wrist problem during an up-and-down Davis Cup weekend earlier this month, but he mostly put those concerns to rest by taking out familiar foe Rajeev Ram 6-4, 7-5 in the Indian Wells first round. This high-bouncing hard court should be favorable for Raonic, so Tomic could be in trouble even if he is 100 percent.

Pick: Raonic in 2

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