The 2019 Indian Wells Masters draw was revealed earlier today and Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer could face off in the semi-finals. On the other hand, top-seeded Novak Djokovic might encounter a few difficulties of his own early on.
Djokovic will begin his campaign at the Indian Wells Masters this year with a second round match against a qualifier after two qualifiers are scheduled to play each other in the opening match before one of them runs into him.
And while that, by itself, should be an easy initiation, his first big test will come in the third round where he potentially faces Aussie maverick Nick Kyrgios. Kyrgios is coming off a title win at Acapulco where he was on the verge of conceding his early tournament fixture against Rafael Nadal and still managed to turn it around and zoom into the final.
If in flow, it’s usually tough to beat the Aussie and Nadal found it the hard way. Djokovic will be wary of that. His fourth round opponent could be another in-form Gael Monfils, or Marco Ceccinato, before he potentially takes on one of Borna Coric or Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic could have had Federer in his half too given the seedings but the Swiss maestro is in the other half, leaving the ATP Tour Finals winner Alexander Zverev to face him in the semi-finals.
Nadal, the second seed, will should have an easy second round encounter as well, before he potentially runs into Argentine Diego Schwartzman. His first real test could come in the fourth round though when he plays Daniil Medvedev, who will need to get past David Goffin to get there.
John Isner or Karen Khachanov could be waiting for him in the quarter-finals before possibly the match of the tournament against Federer.
Fourth seeded Federer could be up against Andreas Seppi in his second round match, while Marton Fucsovics, a player he recently played in Dubai and won might be a third round opponent.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner shouldn’t have too many problems in his fourth round set-up either, as Fabio Fognini or Kyle Edmund lie in wait, but there’s a possibility that Frances Tiafoe might surprise them and steal the march in that quarter.
Federer’s possible quarter-final opponent is one of Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic or Denis Shapovalov before that Nadal semi-final.
Zverev, seeded third, could face his brother Mischa in round two, before taking on Grigor Dimitrov in the third. And if he makes it past the one-time Masters winner, there’s a possible match-up against Milos Raonic in the fourth round. Raonic had beaten Zverev at the Australian Open earlier this year.
One of the most awaited Next-Gen quarter-final match could pit Zverev against Stefanos Tsitsipas but for that the Greek will need to overcome the likes of Roberto Bautista Agut and Kevin Anderson. Anderson’s seeded fifth.
Here’re the possible Indian Wells Masters fourth round match-ups:
- Djokovic v Cecchinato
- Thiem v Coric
- Zverev v Raonic
- Anderson v Tsitsipas
- Nishikori v Cilic
- Federer v Fognini
- Isner v Khachanov
- Nadal v Medvedev
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