That rascal Carabelli

Completely demotivated during the last two tournaments and possibly injured on top of that, Carabelli was on fire in his R1

Perfect attitude, no problem with his thigh, Carabelli showed his best side when we were expecting the exact opposite. He deserved his win over Damm, much more diligent from the baseline and composed, he stayed solid the whole match until Damm blew up. A nice victory for the Argentinian and interesting conditions: it’s quite slow and the bounce is high, he can really work his points. It was great, nothing to complain about, but tomorrow a different caliber awaits him: Nakashima. The American is even more solid than Damm in every area, starting with his ability to resist from the baseline. The long rallies won’t automatically go Carabelli’s way this time.

Nakashima has been good this year, he’s coming in with a semifinal in Acapulco that he really deserved to win, poor guy, but the level is definitely there. His track record at Indian Wells is respectable, he made the round of 16 last year and he almost always gets through the first round here; the last time he lost in the first round was in qualifying in 2018 for his first appearance. It’s a good reflection of the player he is: serious and diligent in 95% of his matches over the season, a benchmark value. On the one hand I’m afraid he might just be too clean for Carabelli and break him twice to win, but on the other hand I really liked Carabelli’s first round and I’m thinking that if he drags him into his type of game, he can make him doubt.