Indian Wells R3 previews and predictions: Rublev vs. Paul, Opelka vs. Dimitrov

Andrey Rublev will be back in action at the Indian Wells Masters when he goes up against Tommy Paul in the third round on Monday. Meanwhile, Reilly Opelka and Grigor Dimitrov are squaring off at a second Masters tournament this season.

(4) Andrey Rublev vs. Tommy Paul

Up to this point, nobody has enjoyed a more favorable draw at the BNP Paribas Open than Paul. The 60th-ranked American took advantage of 40-year-old Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the opening round and then defeated a slumping Dusan Lajovic on Saturday. It was a much-needed stroke of good fortune for Paul, who had not won multiple main-draw matches at any tournament since Parma in May.

Of course, the 24-year-old’s opposition gets much tougher in the form of Rublev on Monday. Rublev is 47-16 this season and is the next player in line to clinch a spot in the Nitto ATP Finals following Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alexander Zverev. The fifth-ranked Russian cruised past Carlos Taberner on Saturday, showing that he is one of the few players who has the firepower from the back of the court to hit through these slow conditions in Indian Wells. This is a bad matchup for Paul (he trails the head-to-head series 3-0) and there is no reason to think anything will be different here.

Pick: Rublev in 2

(23) Grigor Dimitrov vs. (16) Reilly Opelka

Opelka and Dimitrov will be facing each other for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they meet again on Monday. They previously collided at the Toronto Masters, where Opelka cruised 6-3, 6-4. That was hardly surprising given the 20th-ranked American’s solid run of form this season and it continued with a runner-up performance in Toronto (after beating Dimitrov in the second round) and fourth-round showing at the U.S. Open. Opelka kicked off his Indian Wells campaign with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Taro Daniel.

The story has been a much different one for Dimitrov, who is just 19-15 this year. He did well to reach the San Diego semifinals and defeat Daniel Altmaier on Saturday, but the Bulgarian has only one top-20 win since the Australian Open. This is an afternoon match, so the conditions should be perfect for Opelka and give him even more reason to take care of business.

Pick: Opelka in 3