We take a look at selected fixtures from the ATP Tours BNP Paribas Open taking place at the Indian Wells, California starting on the 8th of March 2019.
ATP Tour 2019
BNP Paribas Open
Masters 1000 Series
Indian Wells, California, United States- Hard Outdoor
Selected Round of 128 Matches- 8th March 2019
Filip Krajinovic vs Mikhail Kukushkin
Filip Krajinovic has actually had a fairly solid start to the season. He reached the quarterfinals in Montpellier while an agonizing 3rd round defeat to Coric in Melbourne will have frustrated him. The Serbian has to perpetually deal with the fact that Novak Djokovic is almost seen as the beginning and end of Serbian tennis. Last year was a massive disappointment for Krajinovic following his heroic deeds at the 2017 Paris Masters. He flirted with the top 30 before a truly horrendous run of form as the year progressed Krajinovic will relish this faster surface. He really needs to once again make that step from Challenger mediocrity to ATP full tour status.
The pugnacious Kazak is coming off a fabulous run to the final in Marseille. It took the exceptional Stefanos Tsitsipas to finally dethrone him. Kukushkin is the ultimate journeyman. He has one career title to his name, claiming the St Petersburg title on hard courts in 2010. He will always be a hardcourt specialist and he has the capacity to beat any player should their levels drop a tiny fraction. He has a win-loss ratrio of 8-4 this season and will be looking for a deep run to further cement his growing status.
This will be the first meeting between these two. I think that you can’t look past Kukushkin in this match. He enters this match in far better form and looks a player on the rise. There will be some bruising baseline rallies, you can put all you money on that.
Dan Evans vs Stan Wawrinka
33 year-old Stan Wawrinka has been slowly making his way back from a potentially career threatening sequence of injuries. It was only as recently as Rotterdam that we got a glimpse of the classic Stan Wawrinka. The three-time Slam winner had a glorious run to the final, making it through a gladiatorial sequence of fixtures. He beat the likes of Raonic, Nishikori and Shapovalov. Though he would lose to Monfils, Wawrinka certainly underlined his reemergence. He lost to an inspired Nick Kyrgios in Mexico- I bet there was no love lost in that encounter- and he should be feeling confident this week. Wawrinka reached the final here in 2017, losing to compatriot Roger Federer. Stan Wawrinka will be keen for a solid showing this week ahead of the European clay-court weekend.
28 year-old Dan Evans is a former top 50 player and British number two. He is the British equivalent to Nick Kyrgios, a bad-boy with a penchant for self-destruction. He career was completely derailed by that impudence, when he was forced to take a hiatus from the game due to cocaine abuse. But it seems as if this enigmatic talent may be ready to realize some of that massive potential. He reached only his second ever ATP Tour Final at the Delray Beach Open: he accounted for John Isner in the semi-final. He has also been incredibly consistent at the Challenger level this year. Evans has been imperious in qualifying and should look upon this match with a great deal of relish.
These two have only met once, which was an absolutely epic five-set victory at the 2016 US Open. So there isn’t really a great deal to go on here. I just think that Evans is great value considering his recent impressive form. Wawrinka has also been fairly schizophrenic in form, as he comes to terms with once again having a robust schedule. Evans’ year to date form has been quietly impressive and I fancy him here.
