Second round singles action concludes on Saturday in Southern California.
18-year-old Joao Fonseca has quickly been branded as the ATP’s next big star, with as much buzz surrounding his game as when Carlos Alcaraz skyrocketed to the top of the sport just a few years ago. On Saturday, Fonseca plays British No.1 Jack Draper. Meanwhile Alcaraz, the two-time defending Indian Wells champion, will play his opening match, as will 2022 champ Taylor Fritz, as well as five-time champ Novak Djokovic.
WTA second round action on Saturday is highlighted by a battle between two of the sport’s most formidable backhands, owned by two resurgent players: Amanda Anisimova and Belinda Bencic. Plus, Major champions Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, and Madison Keys will all begin their 2025 Indian Wells campaigns.
This preview will analyze the two most prominent matches of the day, while taking note of the other singles quarterfinals. Saturday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Jack Draper (13) vs. Joao Fonseca (WC) – 11:00am on Stadium 4
Only four months ago, Fonseca was ranked 150th in the world. Yet he’s nearly cut that ranking in half after winning three titles: the Next Gen Finals, a Challenger event, and Buenos Aires. And at the Australian Open, he upset Andrey Rublev with some electrifying tennis. Joao overcame Jacob Fearnley in a first round three-setter on Thursday.
Draper also recently reached a new career-high ranking (No.12) thanks to the best six months of his career. After achieving his first Major semifinal in New York, the 23-year-old followed that up with a title in Vienna, and just recently another final in Doha. Jack advanced to the fourth round here in his 2023 debut, but lost in the first round a year ago.
In the first of what will surely be many career meetings, a hard court would seemingly favor Draper, as all five of his ATP finals have come on this surface. But the slower-playing hard courts of Indian Wells might play more to the liking of Fonseca, who grew up playing on clay. On Saturday, I give the slight edge to the Brit, since he’s been one of the ATP’s most in-form players of the past six months. Plus, as per Tennis Abstract, Joao is only 2-4 at ATP level against lefties.
Amanda Anisimova (17) vs. Belinda Bencic – Third on Stadium 2
Anisimova is only a few weeks removed from the biggest title of her career: a WTA 1000 title in Doha. She defeated six top 40 players that week, and dropped only one set. That result catapulted Amanda into the top 20 for the first time. The 23-year-old is 7-5 lifetime in Indian Wells.
Bencic is only a few months removed from maternity leave, yet has started off 2025 with a strong record of 14-4. She upset two Major champions at the Australian Open (Ostapenko, Osaka), and shortly after, won the title in Abu Dhabi. Belinda was a semifinalist here in 2019, though she’s only 10-8 overall at this event.
Bencic took the first encounter between these two Major semifinalists, but Anisimova has taken the last two. That includes their only match contested on a hard court, back at the 2022 Australian Open. In their first meeting in nearly three years, I favor Belinda to even their head-to-head in a tight contest. She easily won her first round contest over Tatjana Maria, losing only two games, and Bencic is a more consistent performer than the streaky Anisimova.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Anastasia Potapova vs. Madison Keys (5) – This will be Keys’ first match since capturing her maiden Major title in Melbourne. She has split two previous meetings with Potapova, though they haven’t played in four years.
Matteo Gigante (Q) vs. Taylor Fritz (3) – Fritz is now 20-7 at the biggest event in his home state, easily his best record at a Masters 1000 tournament. Gigante is a 23-year-old Italian qualifier who is currently ranked outside the world’s top 200.
Quentin Halys vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) – Alcaraz is on a 12-match winning streak at this tournament, and is 11-2 this season, with a title a few weeks ago in Rotterdam. Halys was a semifinalist just last week in Dubai, and overcame another Spaniard, Pablo Carreno Busta, in the first round.
Coco Gauff (3) vs. Moyuka Uchijima – Gauff arrives on a three-match losing streak, and has lost all of those matches in straight sets. Uchijima is a 23-year-old who won 51 matches last year at all levels, and defeated Emma Raducanu in the first round.
Andrey Rublev (7) vs. Matteo Arnaldi – Last year in the third round of Roland Garros, Arnaldi upset Rublev in straight sets. However, Andrey has taken their other two encounters, both of which took place on hard courts.
Novak Djokovic (6) vs. Botic van de Zandschulp (LL) – Djokovic is vying for his first title in Indian Wells since 2016, and his first ATP title since 2023. He’s 1-0 against van de Zandschulp, who benefitted from a tearful Nick Kyrgios retiring in the first round.
Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. McCartney Kessler – Sabalenka has now lost three of her last four matches, since losing the Australian Open final to Keys. Kessler is a 25-year-old American who has already reached two WTA finals this season, winning the title in Hobart, and recently losing the final in Austin.
Gael Monfils vs. Sebastian Korda (24) – Monfils is 10-3 to start 2025, with a title run two months ago in Auckland. This is his first time playing Korda, who began the year by reaching the final in Adelaide, yet has now lost three of his last four matches.
Saturday’s full Order of Play is here.
