Tallon Griekspoor and Miomir Kecmanovic will clash in the Indian Wells first round on Wednesday, with the winner to face No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev. Nishesh Basavareddy and Bu Yunchaokete are also taking the court.

Miomir Kecmanovic vs. Tallon Griekspoor

Griekspoor and Kecmanovic will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they meet again in round one of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday. All three of their previous encounters came in 2024 and they did not disappoint. Griekspoor won a 6-7(3), 7-6(7), 7-6(3) thriller in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Kecmanovic survived a five-setter at Wimbledon, and Griekspoor got the best of a three-setter in Beijing.

Another fun one should be in the cards with both players in fine form. Griekspoor is coming off a semifinal performance in Dubai, where he ousted Ugo Humbert and Daniil Medvedev before falling to eventual champion Stefanos Tsitsipas. Kecmanovic has won 11 matches this year, including a title in Delray Beach. The 49th-ranked Serb has not won a match in Indian Wells since 2022 and that drought may continue with a tough draw on his hands, but this will likely be another competitive contest.

Pick: Griekspoor in 3

Bu Yunchaokete vs. (WC) Nishesh Basavareddy

Neither Bu nor Basavareddy was a recognizable name on tour as recently as last summer. It’s a different story heading into their first-ever matchup at the Indian Wells Masters, as Bu is comfortably inside the top 100 at No. 71 in the world and Basaveddy (No. 101) will break into the top 100 if he wins on Wednesday. Bu dominated the Challenger circuit in July, qualified for the U.S. Open in August, and reached back-to-back ATP semifinals in September (Hangzhou and Beijing). Unfortunately for the 23-year-old from China, he is 3-8 this season and 1-5 in his last six matches.

Basavareddy seems on his way to becoming one of the tour’s breakout stars in 2025. The 19-year-old American successfully qualified in Brisbane, reached the Auckland semifinals as a qualifier, and took a set off Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open first round. Basavareddy is Newport Beach native and former college tennis star at Stanford, so he will almost certainly enjoy a considerable home-court advantage as a fan favorite. Moreover, the wild-card entry is a steady counter-puncher who should be able to victimize an opponent who is low on confidence.

Pick: Basavareddy in 2