Andy Schooler previews the second-round action at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells when the seeds join the party.
Tennis betting tips: Indian Wells round two
1.5pts Jenson Brooksby to beat Frances Tiafoe at 11/10 (General)
1pt Alejandro Tabilo (+4.5) to beat Daniil Medvedev on the game handicap at 11/10 (William Hill)
Jenson Brooksby v Frances Tiafoe (Fri)
There’s an interesting head-to-head record attached to this match-up with Brooksby leading 3-0, the most recent meeting coming last season.
All three matches have been won in straight sets.
OK, Tiafoe picked up last week by reaching the final in Acapulco but this feels like a good venue for Brooksby – for all the talk about the courts playing faster than last year, it’s still not the quickest by any means.
That should suit Brooksby, who is a great defender and will be hard to hit winners against. And we’ve seen in the past that Tiafoe can produce errors when he’s being forced to really got for his shots.
Brooksby, who himself found some form when making the last eight in Dubai recently, has already settled in at the venue too, holding serve throughout his victory over Alexei Popyrin on Wednesday.
He’s hardly nailed on but, at odds-against, looks a decent price to me.
Daniil Medvedev v Alejandro Tabilo (Sat)
Medvedev won in Dubai last weekend but he’s not had the greatest time since.
He was stuck in the UAE as conflict broke out in the Middle East and had an arduous journey to California, involving a drive to Oman and flight to Istanbul before going trans-Atlantic.
His late arrival won’t have helped him adapt to vastly different conditions and the Russian is a player who has moaned a lot about those conditions here over the years, this despite the fact he has made two finals in Indian Wells.
Tabilo has the potential to take advantage, at least in some way.
He was in good form during the South American Golden Swing on clay, reaching the final in Rio where he somehow managed to lose having hit 1.04 in-play when followers of this column had him at 25/1.
But the Chilean is an adaptable sort and has enjoyed plenty of success on hardcourts too, winning last season in Chengdu and in 2024 in Auckland.
He started his campaign here in impressive fashion, crushing rising star Rafael Jodar 6-1 6-2 in the first round, a match in which he didn’t face a break point.
Backing Tabilo to make the early running and win the first set looks tempting at 3/1, while he’s 6/4 to win any set.
However, I think I’ll settle for the game-handicap market where the Chilean is 11/10 with a 4.5 start.
Posted at 11:05 GMT on 06/03/26
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