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Indian Wells Men’s Draw Analysis

By Nate Slaymaker

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Indian Wells Men’s Draw Analysis

The biggest tournament outside the four Grand Slams is set to begin. The draw is filled with top players. Twenty-seven of the top 30 ranked players in the world are competing in the event. The main draw was released this evening and it is full of intriguing possible match ups. Here’s a look at how things shook out.

Top Half 

Twenty-seven of the top 30 ranked players in the world are competing in the event.

Novak Djokovic is the No.1 seed and starts off with a bye, as do all the 32 seeded players. Interesting first round tilts include Marcos Baghdatis versus Jiri Vesely. The winner of that match will face the world No.1 Djokovic. Thanasi Kokkinakis received a wild card into the event and will face off against German Jan-Lennard Struff.

In Andy Murray’s section of the top half, Candian up-and-comer Vasek Pospisil takes on Mikhail Kukushkin. The winner will take on Murray. Though he eventually lost, Pospisil gave Murray a tough match in Rotterdam this year. Lefty Gilles Muller will play Marinko Matosevic. If Muller gets through, it will be a lefty serving clinic when he faces Feliciano Lopez. Verteran .Mardy Fish is returning to the courts and first up is his young countryman Ryan Harrison. The winner faces Kei Nishikori.

Possible round of 32 contests in the top half are great. Marin Cilic is coming off injury and would be tested against Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. Enersts Gulbis has had a disappointing season. A possible match against fellow enigma Fabio Fognini would be a test of wills and mental stability. The always steady David Ferrer could run into Australian hopeful Bernard Tomic.

In the round of 16, the competition could heat up greatly. Djokovic could face American John Isner, who has beaten him before at Indian Wells. Nishikori’s punishing groundstrokes against Lopez’ serve and volley style could make for some great shotmaking.

In the quarters, Djokovic would likely have no trouble with David Ferrer. The dream quarterfinal matchup would be Nishikori versus Murray. Murray has faltered of late, but that match would bring baseline rallies that no other two players not named Novak could produce. The semifinal could be Djokovic-Murray, a rematch of the Australian semi, or Djokovic-Nishikori, a rematch of the US Open semi.

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Bottom Half

Roger Federer is the No.2 seed and leader of the bottom half. Dangerous floaters in the bottom half are Alexandr Dolgopolov, Donald Young, and Jerzy Janawicz. Sam Querrey’s first round match against Sergiy Stakhovsky will be tough, with the winner facing Tomas Berdych.

In the second round, No.11 seed Grigor Dimitrov could face dangerous Australian noisemaker Nick Kyrgios. Donald young has a chance to move on as he would play No.31 seed Jeremy Chardy. No.21 seed Ivo Karlovic will have his hands full with either Steve Johnson or Marcel Granollers.

When looking at the possible round of 32 matches in the bottom half, the potential for a rematch between Andreas Seppi and Roger Federer will have the tennis world buzzing. Seppi beat the Swiss champion at the Australian Open this year. Berdych-Karlovic stands out as a possible upset. Two Frenchmen in Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet could meet for a chance at the quarters as well.

Rafael Nadal will likely be matched up against Simon or Gasquet in the round of 16. That round could also give us a Berdych-Stan Warinka thriller with the winner facing off against Federer. In the quarterfinals, Nadal will likely have to deal with the big serve of No.6 seed Milos Raonic. The semifinal contestants in this half are much tougher to decide. The bottom half is stronger overall than the top.

Top players with difficult draws: No.5 seed Kei Nishikori, No.7 seed Stan Wawrinka, No.9 seed Tomas Berdych, No.11 seed Grigor Dimitrov,

Top players with easier draws: No.2 seed Roger Federer, No.4 seed Andy Murray, No.6 seed Milos Raonic

Next: Top Mens Conteders at Indian Wells

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