Coming off the upset of the 12 months to this point in opposition to Novak Djokovic, Luca Nardi will likely be again on the courtroom on the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday. He faces Tommy Paul within the fourth spherical. A quarterfinal spot will even be at stake when Daniil Medvedev battles Grigor Dimitrov.
Listed below are my previews and picks for the 2 matchups.
(LL) Luca Nardi vs. 17) Tommy PaulNardi pulled off a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 shocker in opposition to Djokovic on Monday. Saying the end result got here out of nowhere can be a major understatement. Nardi is ranked 123rd on the planet and he wanted a lucky-loser spot in the primary draw after dropping to David Goffin within the closing spherical of qualifying. In his earlier match (Bengaluru Challenger), the 20-year-old misplaced to world No. 462 Ramkumar Ramanathan.
Nardi precisely described his win over Djokovic a “miracle.” Beating Paul can be a lot much less of a stunner, after all, however on the identical time it will likely be a troublesome job. It’s by no means simple for any participant to observe up such a monumental end result, and Paul is taking part in unbelievable tennis nowadays. The world No. 17 has already performed in two finals throughout this American swing, capturing the Dallas title to associate with a runner-up exhibiting in Delray Seaside. Paul has already taken out two red-hot opponents in Tennis Paradie: Alex Michelsen 6-2, 6-2 and Ugo Humbert 6-4, 6-4. The American ought to have the sting on this one.
Decide: Paul in 2
(4) Daniil Medvedev vs. (13) Grigor DimitrovMedvedev and Dimitrov will likely be dealing with one another for the tenth time. The top-to-head sequence stands at 6-3 in favor of Medvedev however Dimitrov gained their most encounter (in a third-set tiebreaker on the 2023 Paris Masters) and their earlier assembly at this occasion in 2021 (4-6, 6-4, 6-3, additionally within the third spherical).
One other win for Dimitrov would hardly be a shock. The 32-year-old loves IW and is in typically stellar type. Dimitrov’s convincing victories over Alexandre Muller and Adrian Mannarino have his 2024 report at 14-3. Medvedev made it to the ultimate within the desert final spring, however he was clear in his disdain for the situations and was once more after scraping previous Sebastian Korda 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 on Monday. Dimitrov has an ideal probability right here.
Decide: Dimitrov in 3
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and in addition maintains his personal tennis web site, The Grandstand. You may observe him on Twitter at @Dimonator.
