Both the men and the women are heading to Indian Wells these next couple of weeks for what promises to be some great tennis. Because of the pandemic the so called “Fifth Slam” was moved to the fall. This should be a treat for tennis fans that are hungry for top tennis. Let’s look at the men’s draw and look at the favorites.

Novak Djokovic is still recovering from the letdown of losing the US Open final, so he’ll be unavailable. In addition to Djokovic, Federer and Nadal are out for the rest of the season as they recover from injury. So, what we have left is the youngsters, who with Medvedev’s thrashing of Djokovic at the US Open, have now become truly the favorites at every tournament.

Key potential Matchups:

Semifinal: Rublev (4) vs. Medvedev (1)

Medvedev will want to take revenge on his compatriot for his loss in Cincinnati. It was Rublevs’s first win in five tries against Medvedev. Does that victory tell us that the rivalry will be more even moving forward? I certainly hope so. Both these players are extremely charismatic and great for the game. It would be a shame for this to turn into a Roddick vs. Federer affair. If Rublev is able to come through in this Semifinal, he would be in a great position to get a Masters 1000 title under his belt. Look for Rublev to get through to the final.

Semifinal: Tsitsipas (2) vs. Zverev (3)

Tsitsipas has held the edge in this rivalry and leads 6-3. However, Zverev has won two out of their last three meetings. Their last meeting was in Cincinnati where Zverev beat Tsitsipas on his way to the title. Zverev looks like the player in better form now – by a very slim margin though. Either way, expect this to be a massive battle between two players that have been having a heck of a season. Zverev looks more polished as of late though and looks in fine form.

Other potential matchups of interest:

Quarterfinal: Berrettini (5) vs Zverev (3)

If Zverev wants to have his matchup against Tsitsipas, it’s very likely he’ll need to go through Wimbledon Finalist Matteo Berrettini. Although Berrettini holds a losing record against Zverev, Berrettini has gotten better as the season has gone on. The Italian is having his best year yet. In addition to his Wimbledon run, he captured Queens, and reached the quarters at the US Open falling in four sets to Djokovic. Zverev will have to withstand the sheer power that comes off the Italian’s racket to get through.

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