Indian Wells Masters: is it time to make way for Roger Federer?

Action at the 2019 Indian Wells Masters is now without the top seed in men’s singles. This could make Roger Federer the new player to beat.

Men’s singles action at the Indian Wells Masters this week sees its favorite and top seed in Novak Djokovic going home early. The world number one notched a win in his opener before falling to German tennis player Philipp Kohlschreiber in the round of 32. Kohlschreiber defeats Djokovic in straight sets, winning 6-4, 6-4.

Djokovic and Kohlschreiber picked up their match after it was originally postponed due to rain at Indian Wells. The German now faces French tennis star Gael Monfils next and we are left wondering who the favorite in men’s singles is with Djokovic gone…

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The obvious choice is Swiss legend Roger Federer. The fourth seeded Federer enters the quarterfinals at Indian Wells this week. Defeating British tennis star Kyle Edmund in the round of 16, Federer reasserted himself with a straight set victory.

Federer defeats Edmund going 6-1, 6-4. He takes on Hubert Hurkacz of Poland next. Hurkacz is coming off big wins over rising ATP star Denis Shapovalov, Japanese great Kei Nishikori, and Lucas Pouille. Add on top of those three wins a strong straight set opener over American Donald young. Now though, he comes face to face with arguably the best ever in Federer.

Still alive in men’s singles is Rafael Nadal. A three-time champion here, he needs two more titles to match Djokovic and Federer’s record with five. Nadal is into the quarterfinals already and takes on Karen Khachanov next. While Khachanov will put Rafa to the test, the Spanish superstar is yet to drop a single set.

Should Federer be considered the favorite moving forward? The quarterfinals are shaping up to be beyond exciting at Indian Wells. With Djokovic out of the mix and third seeded Alexander Zverev also falling in his second match, we have to consider either Federer or Nadal the favorites. Looking at their resumes at Indian Wells, we give the nod to Federer purely based off of his five titles. He most recently won in 2017 when he defeated Stan Wawrinka in the finals.

While we keep an eye on both Federer and Nadal in men’s singles, Djokovic does remain alive in the men’s doubles action with Fabio Fognini at Indian Wells. Stay tuned to see how the action on the men’s and women’s side unfolds throughout the rest of the event.