Crowd favorite Andy Murray will face No. 2 seed Casper Ruud as the second round wraps up in San Diego. American Sebastian Korda will also be in action on Thursday, with Lorenzo Sonego on the other side of the net.
(WC) Andy Murray vs. (2) Casper Ruud
Andy Murray did well to earn a spot in the second round in San Diego. The veteran Scot dispatched Dennis Kudla in two tidy sets and comes into this Indian Wells warmup event off a respectable quarterfinal run in Metz. Murray sits at No. 109 in the world, a ranking slide he owes to a major hip replacement surgery in 2019. And while he appears to be working his way into some form, Casper Ruud is likely to be a difficult opponent.
Ruud is having the season of his young career in 2021. The Norwegian sits at a career-high 10th in the world, and after snatching up most of the available rankings points during the post-French Open clay court swing he came to North American hard courts and continued to play well. Ruud delivered quarterfinal showings in both Toronto and Cincinnati, but he came up short at the U.S. Open–where he lost in the second round to an inspired Botic Van de Zandschulp.
Murray is playing better than he has in a while, but Ruud has a pair of fresh legs and the confidence of a banner season.
Cheryl pick: Ruud in 2
Ricky pick: Ruud in 2
Sebastian Korda vs. (9) Lorenzo Sonego
Sebastian Korda swallowed a disappointment at the U.S. Open, forced to retire in the first round after an unfortunately-timed bout of food poisoning. Despite that, he is still ranked a career-high 42nd in the world. Korda posted a solid first-round win over fellow American Tommy Paul in the first round earlier this week.
Lorenzo Sonego is one of an impressive cadre of players from Italy who have made a splash on the ATP Tour. The 26-year-old won the 250 event in Cagliari and made the final in Eastbourne. Since the grass season, though, Sonego has been off the boil a bit. The world No. 23 lost in the first round of the U.S. Open and managed a single win in Metz last week. Sonego earned his spot in the San Diego second round with a win over Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Korda and Sonego have already met twice in 2021, splitting wins at one apiece. Although Sonego won their only hard-court encounter, with Korda taking their match on clay. With a fairly even matchup and both men playing well this week, this one should go the distance.
Cheryl pick: Korda in 3
Ricky pick: Sonego in 3
WWW?
Rudd in 2; Korda in 3.