2021 Indian Wells Masters Round of 16 – Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas on and what time does it start? Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas will take place on Thursday 14th October, 2021 – not before 02:00 (UK)
Where is Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas taking place? Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas will take place at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California, USA
What surface is Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas being played on? Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas will take place on an outdoor hard court
Where can I get tickets for Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas? Visit this link for the latest ticket information for Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
What channel is Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas on? Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas will be televised on the Amazon Prime Video app on smart TVs
Where can I stream Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas? Amazon Prime subscribers can stream Alex de Minaur vs Stefanos Tsitsipas live via their platform. Subscribers of Tennis TV can also stream the match live
THE LOWDOWN
World number three Stefanos Tsitsipas was nowhere near his best against an occasionally inspired Fabio Fognini on Tuesday night but he rebounded from a set down well to win in three. The 23-year-old faced down 11 break points against Fognini and saved eight, which is unlike him but also fairly encouraging in terms of his performance when it counts. After spending the first-half as possibly the most in-form player on tour, especially on clay where he won a first Masters title at the Monte-Carlo Open and a first Grand Slam final at Roland-Garros. Since losing from two sets up in that final to Novak Djokovic, though, the Greek has looked like wishing the season to end for a long rest.
World number 27 Alex de Minaur has impressed this campaign at Indian Wells with no sets dropped against Aleksandar Vukic and Cristian Garin. The 22-year-old has gone through an odd season of peaks and troughs, with a fairly average 23-20 win record by his standards transferred well into two more titles at the Antalya Open and Eastbourne International. The Aussie has not beaten a top 10 player since then world number seven Alexander Zverev at the inaugural ATP Cup back in 2019.
THE PREDICTION
Tsitsipas looked briefly vulnerable against Fabio Fognini on Tuesday and it is no secret that the Greek has been a lot more fallible since his clay season ended in such disarray in the Roland-Garros final. However, this round of 16 clash with Alex de Minaur is a great match-up for him with a pretty resolute 5-0 lead in their head-to-head record stretching back from the Tokyo Open in 2018 to earlier this season at the Barcelona Open. De Minaur has impressed this week in some slow conditions that make his speed all the more potent but even if he pushes this close you can see Tsitsipas finding the other end of the court with his effortless strokes. Tsitsipas as the outright winner is a cautious pick here, considering he has dropped sets in four of his last six matches.
