Fourteen of the 16 remaining players in the Indian Wells draw are seeded, with only Alexander Zverev and Federico Delbonis crashing the party. Two of the all-seeded showdowns on Wednesday pit Stan Wawrinka against David Goffin and Tomas Berdych against Milos Raonic.
(15) David Goffin vs. (3) Stan Wawrinka
Wawrinka and Goffin will be going head-to-head for the fourth time in their careers when they battle for a place in the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday. All three of their previous meetings have gone Wawrinka’s way, including two on hard courts (both in Chennai). They first faced each other when Goffin was just announcing himself on tour, with Wawrinka scraping past him 7-6(3), 7-6(3) at the 2011 Chennai event. At the same tournament in 2015, Wawrinka prevailed 7-5, 6-3 before he won 7-6(3), 7-6(7), 6-4 at Wimbledon that summer.
Goffin is basically on his second life already in Indian Wells and should be playing with nothing to lose. The 18th-ranked Belgian saved two match points in his opener against Frances Tiafoe, which he won 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(2). Goffin improved to 10-4 on the season with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Guido Pella on Monday. Wawrinka has advanced in the desert with straight-set victories over Illya Marchenko and Andrey Kuznetsov. The third-ranked Swiss is seeking his third title of 2016, having previously triumphed in Chennai and Dubai. Goffin should be able to make this one competitive, but Wawrinka is confident and playing on a surface that is tailored to his game. Expect an entertaining contest between two in-form competitors.
Pick:Â Wawrinka in 3
[polldaddy poll=9349026]
(6) Tomas Berdych vs. (12) Milos Raonic
Berdych has put to rest injury concerns thanks to a pair of victories in the desert. The seventh-ranked Czech retired from a recent Davis Cup match against Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber citing an adductor issue. After five days of rest, however, Berdych got back in business and beat Juan Martin Del Potro 7-6(4), 6-2. The No. 6 seed followed that up by holding off Borna Coric 6-1, 7-6(3) on Monday night.
Up next for Berdych is a sixth career showdown against Raonic. The head-to-head series stands at 3-2 in favor of the 14th-ranked Canadian, who is 3-1 at Berdych’s expense on hard courts (1-0 on outdoor hards). Only one of Raonic’s defeats (at the 2013 Paris Masters) has come aside from retirement, which marred their most recent meeting at the 2015 Monte-Carlo Masters. Raonic missed much of the remainder of last season with a foot injury and an adductor issue sidelined him this February following the Australian Open. It would be fair to say that this tilt may come down to which competitor’s adductor is holding up better. Early returns in Indian Wells have been similarly reassuring for Raonic, who has gotten past Inigo Cervantes and Bernard Tomic without coming close to dropping a set. But Berdych represents competition the likes of which the No. 12 seed has not faced since his semifinal run Down Under. A relatively positive fortnight for Raonic is likely coming to an end on Wednesday.
Pick:Â Berdych in 3
[polldaddy poll=9349044]
Raonic in three and Stanimal in two
I think this could be a tight match, but predict Raonic wins in 3. At this stage of their careers I think Milos is the better player and he said he likes the conditions in IW. Last year he made the SF, has been going one round better each year. So will he get to the F this year?
Berdych in 3, Stan in 2
Stan in 3 sets.
Berdy in 3 sets.
Wawrinka in two.
I slightly favor Berdych over Raonic, so Berdych in three. I think the the winner of Berdych vs Raonic will make it to semifinal agaist Wawrinka.
yep, good draw for whoever wins
Stan in 2
Milos in 3
Ricky Dimon ‏@Dimonator 15m15 minutes ago
6-3 Goffin. He was outstanding. But it has to be said that Wawrinka was somewhere between utterly terrible and beyond horrendous.
Stan has that just let me take a nap look. Goffin up 4-1 in the 2nd set now.
Ah, David. Serving for the MATCH. And broken. That’s sad…
Victory was 2 points away.
This match is killing me!
David serving for the match (again) in the 3rd set – 2 points away – he gets broken and it’s killing me. Horrible.
Fairy tale ending for Goffin. Nightmare for WaWa.
Wow! What a freaking RELIEF, Goffin wins the tie break. I’m so happy he got it after all that. Both my picks lost hahahaha….
That was some ugly stuff from Stan. He got the mini breaks and then gave them right back. Then that shot he missed, an absolute sitter, to give Goffin match point.
Not pretty!
thanks for describing NNY! we Don’t expect that from Stan…terrible…
Miss. Of. The. Year. One word. Horrendous. Stan could’ve been in the QF with a solid chance at the final. I really thought we would be seeing Nole vs Stan final after Andy lost. Now I don’t think anyone can take down Novak except for Rafa. Considering Rafa seems to be playing better and Nole has been questionable lately. Young guns like Thiem and Zverev could test Nole maybe but Stan had the best shot. How does he not come through the clutch in that match. After second set I thought he would win. Damit Stan.
agree with every word
vamosrafa,
I just saw Rafa and Zverev go out on the court. Will you be keeping me company and live blogging?
I am nervous for this one.
I hope that they switch from Berdy and raonic when rafa’s match starts. Right now they are going to a second set TB.
Benny,
I feel for you. I know you are a Stan fan big time. He just seemed off throughout the match. Goffin kept letting him back in the match, but he couldn’t get it done.
That missed shot was just something you don’t expect to see from Stan when the match is on the line. I thought Stan would win this one for certain.
I know he’s a tough match up for Novak, but in this kind of form I don’t think he would have beaten him.
Tough luck seeing your guy go down that way.
Okay! Rafa gets the break back to deny Zverev the first set!
That was a good hold by Rafa after getting even with the break. Rafa stayed strong while under pressure. He’s thinking out there.