The Indian Wells fourth round takes place on Wednesday, with American hopeful Jenson Brooksby taking on defending champ Cameron Norrie and the Spanish phenom Carlos Alcaraz battling French veteran Gael Monfils.
(12) Cam Norrie vs. Jenson Brooksby
Jenson Brooksby already produced a stellar fortnight at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The 21 year-old dismantled No. 25 seed Karen Khachanov in the second round, but the win of Brooksby’s career came in the third round over No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsistipas. Brooksby’s game is the sort that disrupts his opponent’s rhythm, and disrupt Tsitsipas he did.
Cameron Norrie has been a force to be reckoned with on North American hard courts this year. He won the event in Delray Beach and made the final in Acapulco, which he lost to Rafael Nadal. Now he finds himself in the fourth round in Indian Wells as the defending champion.
These two men have never played. They are both in fine form right now, so it could be an entertaining match. With the way Brooksby’s been playing, this one could be another seed upset for the American.
Cheryl pick: Brooksby in 3
Ricky pick: Brooksby in 3
(26) Gael Monfils vs. (19) Carlos Alcaraz
Gael Monfils has enjoyed an inspiring resurgence this year. In 2021, the Frenchman often struggled to string two match wins together. In Melbourne this year he battled his way into the quarterfinals, where he lost a five-set heartbreaker to Matteo Berrettini. Monfils had a monster win in the third round over Indian Wells No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev, but he runs into a red-hot Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round.
Alcaraz has only lost one match in 2022 (also to Berrettini at the Australian Open). He won the event in Rio and pocketed a Davis Cup win a couple of weeks ago. The Spanish teenager blitzed his way into the fourth round without dropping a set, and he only lost two games total to his third round opponent–countryman Roberto Bautista Agut.
While Monfils is playing well, it’s hard to imagine the veteran picking off Alcaraz when the youngster is playing as well as he has been this week. This one might be over in a hurry.
Cheryl pick: Alcaraz in 2
Ricky pick: Alcaraz in 2
That match providing le Monf turns up should be a sure fire cracker!!! I’ll go with Monfils on this one bcoz he can easily rattle Alcaraz with his athleticism and underarm serve 🤪😜, and may even end up out Alcarazing Alcaraz, if u know what I mean!! Go Monfils, GO!!!!