Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the Indian Wells Masters match.
The only previous encounter between the two players occurred earlier this year, in the third round of the Australian Open. With the support of his home crowd, the higher-seeded Alex de Minaur emerged victorious (5:7, 7:6, 6:3, 6:3). Now they will face each other on neutral ground.
Francisco Cerúndolo
That match lasted almost four hours, and in the second set, Cerundolo was leading (6:5, 30:15) on de Minaur’s serve but failed to even reach set point. De Minaur won due to a significantly lower number of unforced errors (62-91) and a higher percentage of points won on his opponent’s serve (45-37%). At the start of this year, Francisco has preferred playing on clay: he already has 11 matches (8-3), while Alex hasn’t played any.
Alex de Minaur
Alex de Minaur has excelled on hard courts, winning 188 of 278 matches on the surface and claiming seven ATP titles. He has won 15 of his 19 matches this season, including 10 victories on hard courts. De Minaur’s ability to extend rallies and exploit his opponent’s weaknesses makes him a tough challenge in slow conditions like those in Indian Wells.
Francisco Cerúndolo vs Alex de Minaur Prediction
Cerúndolo lacks the consistency needed to keep up with de Minaur on hard courts, especially in these conditions. The Australian should control the baseline exchanges and force errors from his opponent. Expect a comfortable win for Alex de Minaur.
