Three to See, Indian Wells Day 7: Rublev vs. Norrie; Sabalenka vs. Krejcikova; Medvedev vs. Zverev
Before each day's play at the BNP Paribas Open, we'll preview three must-see matches.
WATCH: Alexander Zverev defeats Emil Ruusuvuori in the 2023 BNP Paribas Open third round
Andrey Rublev vs. Cameron Norrie
Who has had the better 2023 so far? Rublev has reached the quarters of a major, and made the final of a 500 in Dubai. Norrie beat Rafael Nadal early in the year, and beat Carlos Alcaraz in the final in Rio. Let’s call it a draw and see who has the edge in their first meeting of the season.
Rublev leads their head to head 2-1, and he won their most recent match, in pretty convincing straight-set fashion, at last year’s US Open. Norrie also had a little more trouble in his last round, needing three sets to subdue Taro Daniel. I could see Rublev building a quick lead over Norrie on Tuesday; and then having to survive a stubborn push-back from the pesky Brit. From there, it could go either way. Winner: Norrie
Aryna Sabalenka vs. Barbora Krejcikova
This match will pit the two most in-form WTA players of 2023 against each other. Sabalenka came out of the gates with 13 straight wins and her first Slam title. Then, in Dubai, Krejcikova ended that streak, and went on to record an even bigger win, over Iga Swiatek for a 1000-level title.
In their Dubai match, Sabalenka won the first set 6-0, before Krejcikova snuck through the second set and ran away with the third. I don’t think Sabalenka, who is looking like a dominating force for 2023, is going to want to let something like that happen again. Winner: Sabalenka
Daniil Medvedev vs. Alexander Zverev
The Russian and the German have faced off 12 times, and each has won six. Zverev won the first four, and Medvedev won five in a row in 2020 and 2021. While they know each other’s games well, they’ll have to get reacquainted for this match; it has been 16 months since they last played, at the ATP Finals in 2021.
What will they find when they take the court? Zverev will recognize the Medvedev he faced, and frequently lost to, back in 2021. Medvedev is on a three-tournament win streak, and is just as stingy with his errors as he was when he was rising to No. 1 two years ago.
The same can’t be said for Zverev, who is still finding his way after a long injury layoff last year. Still, he did make the semis in Dubai last month, and he willed himself past Emil Ruusuvuori, 7-5 in the third, in a good one on Sunday. He should be ready to make Medvedev work to keep his streak alive. Winner: Medvedev