One winner, one loser, and that continues a relatively poor trend in Indian Wells, although it could be worse.
The poor weather delayed many of the matches, but the tournament has stayed on schedule and that means the remaining Fourth Round matches will be played on Wednesday as we move into the business end of the first of back to back Masters events.
Once again it will be two selections from the matches scheduled to be played and those can be read below.
Coco Gauff v Belinda Bencic: No one could have anticipated Belinda Bencic's return to the Tour to be as successful as it has been just several months after giving birth.
Even the former top ten Ranked player admitted that she had entered some events with little expectation, but Belinda Bencic played well in Melbourne at the Australian Open and has backed that up really well. Winning the WTA 500 event in Abu Dhabi will have provided another boost in confidence after the run to the Fourth Round at the Australian Open and Belinda Bencis has been in fine form in Indian Wells.
Three wins have been secured here and the last two have been against top 20 Ranked opponents, including beating Doha Champion Amanda Anisimova in the Second Round.
Belinda Bencic has always been a decent server on the hard courts, but she is certainly playing with more aggression and belief in her return and that has been key to the performances and results produced.
Next up is another big test for the Swiss player when going up against Coco Gauff, who will have plenty of support from the stands.
The World Number 3 was beaten in the Australian Open Quarter Final, which was a huge disappointment, but followed up with opening defeats in both Doha and Dubai. That meant Coco Gauff entered the tournament in Indian Wells having lost three hard court matches in a row, and there is a vulnerability about her tennis despite winning twice in this WTA 1000 event.
Coco Gauff was better in the Third Round win over Maria Sakkari than in her opening victory here, but she will be tested by a confident Belinda Bencic.
They met at the Australian Open in January and Coco Gauff had to fight back from a set down to get the better of this opponent. Her serve is still an issue, especially the second serve, but Coco Gauff may feel she can get enough balls back into play to wear down Belinda Bencic, even if the latter is playing at a really good level.
Too many Double Faults are putting Coco Gauff under pressure, but the first serve could offer up some cheaper points and Belinda Bencic may just come up short against a top ten Ranked opponent for the fourth time in five matches played in 2025.
Brandon Nakashima-Ben Shelton over 23.5 games: Two American players will be looking for a strong serving day in order to book their place in the Quarter Final of the first ATP Masters played in 2025.
Brandon Nakashima has forced his way into the World Number 33 Ranking spot, which is his career best mark, and his confidence has to be in a good place after reaching the Semi Final in Acapulco and Quarter Final in Delray Beach. The hard courts are a surface on which Brandon Nakashima is very comfortable and his two wins in Indian Wells have come in dominant fashion.
There is room for improvement as far as the return of serve numbers go, but Brandon Nakashima has displayed quality serving and that has put the scoreboard pressure on opponents.
He will need to serve well when taking on compatriot Ben Shelton, who is the World Number 12, which is also his peak career Ranking.
Ben Shelton has certainly looked like a player that enjoys the big stage and that was backed up by reaching the Australian Open Semi Final. Early losses in hard court events in February will have been a disappointment, but Shelton has been in good form in Indian Wells and has won back to back matches for the first time since Melbourne.
Much like his opponent, Ben Shelton has been a very strong server and that has used that to try and build scoreboard pressure. His return still has room to be improved, again like Brandon Nakashima, and both players are likely going to be as successful as their serving can be on the day.
It is Ben Shelton who has won all three previous meetings between the players on the Tour and that includes a victory at the Australian Open. Ben Shelton has won all seven sets played against Brandon Nakashima, but it should also be noted that every set has seen both players win at least five games.
That is not surprising when you think Ben Shelton has won 71% of service points played and held 95% of those games played, while Brandon Nakashima has won 70% of service points played leading to holds in 88% of service games played.
The mental edge is with Ben Shelton having won the big points to secure the victories, but the players can combine to cover this total games line set. Both have served well enough to believe they can look after that aspect of their tennis and that should mean tie-breakers are in play, which can quickly put this Fourth Round match on the way to surpassing the total set.
MY PICKS: Coco Gauff @ 1.80 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Brandon Nakashima-Ben Shelton Over 23.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet Fred (1 Unit)
Indian Wells Update: 3-3, - 0.52 Units (6 Units Staked, - 8.67% Yield)
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