Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Daniil Medvedev will begin their BNP Paribas Open campaigns Friday when the seeded stars enter the action at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells.
Second seed Tsitsipas faces Australian Jordan Thompson in the second round, while Medvedev aims to extend his 14-match winning streak when he takes on American Brandon Nakashima. Ruud will meet Argentine Diego Schwartzman.
Andrey Rublev, 2021 champion Cameron Norrie, German Alexander Zverev and Italian Matteo Berrettini are among the other seeds in action from the bottom half on Day 3 of the first Masters 1000 event of the season.
ATPTour.com runs through some of the key matchups on show in the Californian desert.
[ATP APP]
[5] Daniil Medvedev vs. Brandon Nakashima [USA]
Medvedev arrives in Indian Wells in red-hot form, having sealed a hard-court title hat-trick in the past month. The fifth seed lifted trophies in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai, where he upset World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
The 27-year-old will be looking to maintain his performance levels at the hard-court event and improve on his record in Indian Wells, where he has failed to advance past the fourth round in six previous appearances.
His second-round opponent is 21-year-old Nakashima, who defeated John Isner in his opening match to earn his second tour-level win of the season. The 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals champion is aiming to reach the third round in Indian Wells for the first time.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
[2] Stefanos Tsitsipas [GRE] vs. Jordan Thompson [AUS]
Tsitsipas will compete for the first time since he lost in the second round in Rotterdam in February. The second-seeded Greek can rise to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time following the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami, defending a combined 135 points from last year.
Tsitsipas, who reached the Australian Open title match in January, must win one trophy and reach one final during the swing to give himself a chance of reaching top spot for the first time, with his bid starting against Thompson.
“This tournament always has such good energy when you can play in these courts,” said Tsitsipas, who is seeking his third ATP Masters 1000 title this fortnight. “The fans are incredible. For me it has been a while since I stepped on a court and played a match, so it is great being back here. I might not be at the best with the way I am feeling on the court right now, but I am pleased to have the opportunity to compete.”
Thompson defeated the returning Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-1 in the first round, but enters the clash against Tsitsipas trailing the 24-year-old 0-2 in their ATP Head2Head series.
[BREAK POINT]
[3] Casper Ruud (NOR) vs. Diego Schwartzman (ARG)
Ruud has endured a disappointing start to the season, failing to advance beyond the second round in the three tour-level tournaments that he has played. The Norwegian will aim to turn his fortunes and his ATP Head2Head series record against Argentine Diego Schwartzman around when the pair meet.
Schwartzman, who leads Ruud 5-3, snapped a five-match losing streak when he defeated countryman Federico Coria 6-1, 6-2 in the first round. His best result in seven previous appearances in California came in 2021, when he advanced to the quarter-finals.
“This is sort of where it all starts again. It is the first Masters 1000,” Ruud said. “There are a lot of big events coming between now and November. You need to be ready for it and I feel ready, so let’s see how I can play.”
Match of the day in @BNPPARIBASOPEN @CasperRuud98 vs @dieschwartzman
Splitting the 52-week #ShotQuality advantage 2:2
Who are you picking to move on to the next round?#TennisInsights | @atptour pic.twitter.com/XV086Qqen3
— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) March 10, 2023
[6] Andrey Rublev vs. Jiri Lehecka [CZE]
As opening-round tests go, they don’t get much harder than facing World No. 47 Jiri Lehecka. The Czech, who reached the championship match at the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals, has enjoyed a standout start to the season. He reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and the semi-finals in Doha, where he defeated Rublev to level their ATP Head2Head series at 1-1.
RE-Match of the day!@jirilehecka vs @AndreyRublev97 💪
Head-to-head currently stands at 1:1.
15 days ago, it was Leheckha with the win, #Insights from that match 👇
2 of the biggest FH hitters, last time out, it was the BH that was the difference maker. What will be the… https://t.co/SK1rHFBUo5 pic.twitter.com/57ic8T3yZG
— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) March 10, 2023
Set on revenge, Rublev will be looking to improve on his 9-6 start to the season in California, where he has tasted success before. The 25-year-old reached the semi-finals in Indian Wells last year, defeating seeds Hubert Hurkacz and Grigor Dimitrov before falling to eventual champion Taylor Fritz.
Rublev arrives at the ATP Masters 1000 event off the back of a run to the final in Dubai, where he lost to Medvedev.
“I feel much better because I won some matches that I have not won before,” Rublev said when reflecting on his recent form. “I took some great victories. I feel much better. But here everything is different. It is a new tournament, a new continent.”
[FOLLOW ACTION]
Also In Action….
Zverev made his return to Tour at the United Cup in January after missing the second half of last year due to a right ankle injury he suffered against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros. After a slow start to the season, the German stepped up his level in Dubai last week, advancing to the semi-finals.
Zverev, who reached the quarter-finals in Indian Wells in 2021, will aim to build on his progress against Argentine Pedro Cachin, who defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili on debut.
The 10th seed Cameron Norrie captured the biggest trophy of his career in Indian Wells in 2021. The Briton, who enters the event following a title run in Rio de Janeiro last month, faces Chinese Taipei qualifier Tung-Lin Wu.
The 20th seed Matteo Berrettini plays Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel, while 14th seed Frances Tiafoe takes on Marcos Giron. The 21st seed Grigor Dimitrov faces Jason Kubler, with 25th seed Denis Shapovalov up against Ugo Humbert.