Daniel, obvious?

If we compare the profiles in relation to the conditions why not, but if we look at the state of form, not great for our friend Taro § Let's dig a little..

Firstly, I would like to point out that even if the Colombian played 65% of his matches on clay, he should not be confined to this surface. He has a lot of strengths to showcase on hard court, starting with his serve. Which means that sometimes, well, he surprises. As recently as the start of the season at the Australian Open, he beat the local Kubler in 5 sets even though he was a good underdog. Another thing, he comes out of 2 very solid tournaments on clay. In Buenos Aires, he won 3 matches as an underdog. In Rio, he lost in 3 sets against the very good Lajovic. Small downside I grant you: the clay courts of Buenos and Rio are quite fast with a rather high rebound. I think he will struggle a little more here in Indian Wells. Concerning Taro Daniel, we could consider that things stink at the moment since he has a series of defeats but we have to look at the names of the players he faces too. Judging by his results, he is generally quite difficult to beat at Indian Wells (victory against Norrie, Djoko and Berrettini among others). And even if he takes a beating against De Minaur, he is nowhere near beating Cobolli, and that reassures me...