By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Comeback competitors, supreme shot makers and terrific trash talkers all make our list of Indian Wells men's popcorn openers.
Photo credit: Julian Finney/Getty
Intriguing desert duels pop off the page of the BNP Paribas Open men's draw.
The season's first Masters 1000 tournament begins with a bang—and several notable first-round showdowns.
More: Djokovic Out of Indian Wells
Here's our choices for five first-rounders to watch in Tennis Paradise.
(PR) Gael Monfils (FRA) vs. Jordan Thompson (AUS)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Welcome back Gael Monfils, playing his first tournament since a foot injury forced him to retire from his Montreal match vs. Jack Draper last August. The sturdy Thompson will make the 36-year-old Frenchman play a lot of balls.
A lot has happened in Monfils' life since his last match. Wife Elina Svitolina gave birth to the couple's first child, daughter Skaï Monfils, on October 15th. Monfils, who started using a new racquet in 2022, can draw on good vibes from his last trip to Tennis Paradise.
Deconstructing the top seed with variety, Monfils dethroned Daniil Medvedev from the world No. 1 ranking with certainty surging through seven straight games to spark a stirring 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 Indian Wells upset last March en route to the round of 16.
Ben Shelton (USA) vs. Fabio Fognini (ITA)
Head-to-head: First meeting
The left-handed Shelton can bomb his serve into any spot in the box and showed an affinity for the arena in his inspired run to the Australian Open quarterfinals.
Since then, the 20-year-old Shelton has lost both matches he played though he did push Rolex Paris Masters champion Holger Rune to three sets in Acapulco.
World No. 41 Shelton is 47 spots higher in the rankings than the 88th-ranked Fognini, who has just one singles win this season. We've seen the theatrical Italian heat up in a hurry and Fognini knows he'll see that searing lefty serve out wide to his backhand on the ad side all day long. Both are exciting shotmakers unafraid to trash talk and the winner will get a shot at defending champion and No. 4-seeded Taylor Fritz so this one could be fun.
John Isner (USA) vs. Brandon Nakashima (USA)
Head-to-head: Nakashima leads 2-1
A rematch of the 2021 Atlanta final, which Isner won 7-6, 7-5, this figures to be another tight test.
The 39th-ranked Isner reached the Dallas final last month and pushed Fritz to three sets in Acapulco. Isner is a 2012 Indian Wells finalist.
World No. 48 Nakashima beat Isner in their last meeting at the 2021 US Open. Five of the seven sets they've played have been either tiebreaker or 7-5 scores so this will be tight. The groundstroke rallies pit Isner's favored inside-out forehand into Nakashima's rock-solid two-handed backhand, his best shot.
The winner takes on 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, who is riding a 14-match winning streak and back-to-back-to-back championships into the desert.
Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry (ARG)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Bruising baseline rallies should be on tap here.
The 6'5" Etcheverry is coming off his maiden ATP Final on the red clay of Santiago, Chile where he fell to Nicolas Jarry in three sets. Etcheverry enters this match on a career-high ranking of No. 61.
Murray has been one of the best feel-good stories of the early season. The man with the metal hip has showed steely spine saving multiple match points in thrillers this season. A defiant Murray delivered yet another competitive death-defying comeback fighting off five match points to edge Jiri Lehecka 6-0, 3-6, 7-6(6) in a wild Doha semifinal thriller.
The two-time Olympic gold-medal champion has played exhilarating tennis and returns to the tournament 14 years after his run to the final where he lost to Rafa Nadal.
(WC) Dominic Thiem (AUS) vs. Adrian Mannarino (FRA)
Head-to-head: Thiem leads 8-1
Despite the lopsided head-to-head, this is a match of dangerous deja vu for Dominic Thiem.
The 2020 US Open champion injured his right wrist in the first set of his 2021 Mallorca opener against Mannarino. Thiem has never quite been the same since that injury and enters Indian Wells ranked No. 102 on a wild card.
Both men are searching for form and confidence as Thiem has posted a 1-6 record in 2023, while Mannarino is 7-6 but has earned back-to-back wins at two tournaments Delray Beach and Dallas. The winner here faces 19th-seeded Italian with the wondrous one-handed backhand Lorenzo Musetti in round two.