Thanasi Kokkinakis did really well to win his first-round Indian Wells Open match, but now he has to face Jannik Sinner.
The Italian has played only one event since winning the Australian Open, but he won that one, too. It was in Rotterdam, and it was a pretty comfortable ride for Sinner, who arrived in the United States with an unbeaten record.
He's 12-0 so far in 2024 and will look to make it 13 in a row against Kokkinakis, who performed really well at the start of his campaign at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
He downed the always-tricky Marcos Giron in two sets and will now try to produce an upset against Sinner. However, many factors make it unlikely.
First of all, it's not likely because the matchup doesn't favor Kokkinakis at all. Due to the terribly slow conditions in Indian Wells, it's going to be a hitting contest, and I don't see Kokkinakis winning that battle.
He's never done so far, either, as he lost all three matches played against Sinner. Two of those happened last year, and both were pretty easy wins for the Italian, who doesn't mind the slow conditions.
It will give him enough time to unload, and we already know that very few players can measure up to his hitting.
| Jannik Sinner | Thanasi Kokkinakis | |
| 3 | H2H | 0 |
| 3 | Rank | 99 |
| 22 | Age | 27 |
| 12-0 | 2024 W/L | 3-5 |
| 202-74 | Career W/L | 65-85 |
There are some other things to note about the matchup. It will be Sinner's first match this month, so there might be some rust there.
He hasn't played for a while, and the conditions are very slow, and the tennis balls are also slow, so it takes some time getting used to. Still, the Italian is the far better player, and anything but his win would be a major surprise.
Prediction: Jannik Sinner to win in two sets.