There have been some mixed reviews about how the Indian Wells surface has been playing through the opening few days at the first of two big Masters 1000 events to be played this month.
It certainly warrants something of a watching brief with some stating it is perhaps faster than usual, while others continue to describe Indian Wells as a slow hard court.
The ball change could be having an early impact too, but it is something to keep an eye upon as the First Round is completed on Thursday.
One selection was made on Wednesday and, unfortunately, that did not return as hoped, but there are two ATP selections for the completion of the First Round, which can be read below.
Terence Atmane v Grigor Dimitrov: There will be a hope that every tournament that Grigor Dimitrov plays will get him closer to the form he was displaying before his injury at Wimbledon last year. He was right on course to beat eventual Champion Jannik Sinner in that Fourth Round match at the third Grand Slam of the 2025 season, but the Bulgarian has not had any real success since returning to the Tour.
Grigor Dimitrov won a match at the Paris Masters at the end of 2025 before having to withdraw from the tournament.
Another return was made earlier this year in Brisbane in the preparation for the Australian Open and Grigor Dimitrov comfortably got the better of fellow veteran Pablo Carreno Busta.
However, that has been the highlight for the World Number 42 who has lost his next four matches with opening Round defeats at the Australian Open followed by more of the same in Dallas and Acapulco. Grigor Dimitrov has struggled massively on the return of serve with just 28% of points won when facing serve, and that has put a lot of pressure on his own serve.
The next month could see Dimitrov take a big slip in the World Rankings as he defends a Fourth Round run in Indian Wells and then a Semi Final run from the Miami Masters. If he can get healthy, there will be plenty of Ranking Points to pick up after Wimbledon, but the draws get tougher and having to Qualify for events will just add to the pressure around the former World Number 3.
The 34 year old faces an opponent who is ten years his junior and Terence Atmane will be confident having beaten Grigor Dimitrov last week on the hard courts of Acapulco.
He dominated that match with 74% of service points won and facing just a couple of Break Points, while Atmane won 41% of points played on the Grigor Dimitrov serve and broke serve three times.
Terence Atmane is playing at a career high World Ranking after reaching the Quarter Final in Acapulco, but he will know there is still room for improvement on the hard courts.
Despite that, he has been playing well enough to believe he can frank the win over Grigor Dimitrov having been much more effective on the return of serve since heading over to North and Central America following his trip Down Under. That can be very important in the conditions at the Masters event in Indian Wells and the Frenchman looks a decent underdog to get behind.
Sebastian Korda - 4.5 games v Francisco Comesana: A disappointing run in January and the early loss at the Australian Open may have dented some confidence, but much of that should be restored by Sebastian Korda after recent efforts.
He has clearly enjoyed being back in North America and Sebastian Korda returned by reaching the Final of a Challenger event held in San Diego.
Backing that up are his efforts in Dallas and Delray Beach having reached the Quarter Final of the former and winning the title at the latter and Korda is now well rested.
Facing an opponent who is more comfortable on the clay courts can be dangerous on what have usually been slower hard courts in Indian Wells, but Sebastian Korda is right to be set as a strong favourite when facing Francisco Comesana.
It is no surprise that Francisco Comesana took in clay court tournaments after the Australian Open, but he has not exactly been racking up the wins in those. Earlier this year through to the first Grand Slam of the season, Comesana finished with a 2-3 record on the hard courts and he certainly served well enough to offer some resistance in this First Round match, even if conditions tend to favour the returner.
His opponent has also been serving really well on the surface, but Sebastian Korda has broken in 21% of return games compared with Francisco Comesana's 11% mark and that is likely going to be a factor in the outcome of this match.
This is a big spread and can be awkward, but Sebastian Korda looks worthy of backing in what is going to be a slow start to the tournament for the Tennis Picks.
MY PICKS: Terence Atmane @ 2.20 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Sebastian Korda - 4.5 Games @ 2.10 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Indian Wells Update: 0-1, - 1 Unit (1 Unit Staked, - 100% Yield)
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