First round without any trouble for Fritz?

Fearnley doesn’t seem to be a big problem, but in tennis things can change fast.

How many times have we seen out-of-form players show up and put together monstrous tournaments with their tennis just clicking for no apparent reason? It’s kind of the perfect example with Fearnley and his first round: he’s been completely lost since the start of the year and couldn’t even win indoors anymore, so you figure that in windy outdoor conditions against a metronome, he’s going to miss the mark. Except he produces his best match of the season! Fewer errors on serve than usual and, above all, an excellent forehand throughout the whole match — he played his tennis like a guy full of confidence, which he actually isn’t. He’s got fire in his arm and can hit huge shots, but let’s keep our feet on the ground and remember he’s only beaten Dzumhur, and in the second round he’ll be up against Fritz. That’s a step up in level and, above all, a completely different match-up: Dzumhur’s passivity and lack of serving quality give way to a Fritz who is particularly strong at Indian Wells.

It’s probably his favorite tournament, or close to it; he won the title in 2022 and also made a semi, and since 2019 he’s never lost in the first round. At the same time, the conditions suit him nicely: he handles this slightly slow surface really well, and it doesn’t bother him at all. However, he said before the start of the match that he wanted to play during the day, that he would request it. And now he’s scheduled first in the night session — he’s going to be thrilled! Aside from the scheduling, I’m optimistic for him: he comes in after a final in Dallas and a quarterfinal loss to Paul, no sign of injury, we’re looking at a favorite who’s likely to show up and deliver without too much doubt.