Boxing Picks 2026- James Dickens vs Anthony Cacace (Saturday 14th March)

There has been some drama out of the ring in recent weeks with the two leading British promoters finding themselves on the opposite side of the Saudi power-brokers who are now aligning with Dana White and Zuffa Boxing instead.

Politics have meant some fighters have switched promotions, while the Tyson Fury fight in April looks to be excluding Queensberry from the promotional side, despite the deal Fury seemingly had with Frank Warren and his company.

This is going to be a part of the future of the sport, at least in the immediate future, but there are some very good nights already locked in for the weeks and months ahead.

James Dickens vs Anthony Cacace

Ten months have passed since Anthony Cacace was last out in the ring and you do have to wonder if his career is not progressing as quickly as he would like.

Back in May 2025, Anthony Cacace beat Leigh Wood comprehensively, but he has not been able to build on that as he may have hoped and at 37 years old, time is not on his side.

This is an opportunity to win the WBA World Super Featherweight Title though and there should be a fine atmosphere in Dublin on Saturday night.

James Dickens has had an Indian summer in his own career after moving up to Super Featherweight and upsetting the odds to pick up a World Title. This is the first big World Title earned and James Dickens will not want to give it up easily, although it should be noted that he has been Stopped in five of the six career defeats suffered.

He will stand his ground, but Anthony Cacace is the naturally bigger fighter and he does punch much harder than the overall record may suggest.

They should gel together, which is always great news for the fans, and Anthony Cacace may pick up another World Title with a Stoppage win as he did when beating Joe Cordina in May 2024.

On the undercard, Pierce O'Leary is looking to take the next step in his development by beating veteran Maxi Hughes.

There is no doubt that Hughes has mixed in stronger company, but at 36 years old, you do have to wonder how much is left in the tank.

Maxi Hughes may have come in at short notice, but he has shown he still has a level that has proven too good for some domestic level fighters and it is up to O'Leary to prove he is better than that.

This is going to be far from easy for the home fighter, but Pierce O'Leary may have just enough to edge to a Decision on the cards.

We also have a decent card in Anaheim on Saturday evening- Oscar Callazo holds two of the four World Titles in the Minimumweight Division and he is expected to have far too much for Jesus Haro before targeting the other Champions.

Arnold Barboza Jr was last seen losing to Teofimo Lopez in the Light Welterweight Division, but can upset the odds and Kenneth Sims Jr in the move to Welterweight.

This is anything but a foregone conclusion with Sims Jr knowing a win would push his name forward for big World Title fights of his own in what is an open Division, but Arnold Barboza Jr is perhaps a little underrated and can secure the victory on the cards.

MY PICKS: Anthony Cacace to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 3.00 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Pierce O'Leary to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 2.75 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Oscar Callazo to Win Between 1-6 @ 2.05 William Hill (2 Units)

Arnold Barboza Jr to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 2.87 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Boxing 2026: 5-10, - 6.94 Units (27 Units Staked, - 25.70% Yield)

European Tour 2- European Darts Trophy Day 2 Picks 2026 (Saturday 14th March)

The big names enter the European Darts Trophy in the Second Round, although Luke Humphries was at Cheltenham on Friday and it was soon announced that he would not be travelling to Germany for this event this weekend.

Despite the absence of the top two players in the Rankings, a strong field has still come together for the tournament and there are some very good looking matches to be played in the two Sessions on Saturday.

Poor doubling from Cameron Menzies and a failure to see out a 5-4 lead by Kai Gotthardt made it a difficult start to the weekend, but both could have easily swung the other way.

Hopefully better fortune is to come this weekend.

Danny Noppert & Ross Smith double: These two players should have the high scoring power to beat the opponents in the Second Round, although Ross Smith is goign to have clean up on some of the doubling issues he had in his UK Open defeat last weekend.

Prior to that, Smith had been playing well on the floor and he can bounce back against Dave Chisnall, who put in a huge effort to recover from 0-5 down to win his First Round match 6-5.

Danny Noppert is becoming one of the most consistent players in darts and he can match the scoring power of Ricky Evans, while also showing off the superior doubling at key times.

Wessel Nijman win & Chris Dobey over 2.5 180s double: It was harder than Wessel Nijman needed it to be, but winning the First Round match should have given him a lot of confidence.

You can never dismiss Mike De Decker, but he is not producing the same consistency as the Dutchman and it was Wessel Nijman who won both matches between the pair in 2025.

Chris Dobey vs Luke Woodhouse has the makings of a match that could go down right to the wire and that should give the big maximum hitting Dobey ample time to hit at least three in that contest.

Josh Rock & Michael van Gerwen double: Two Premier League participants look capable of coming through awkward, but winnable Second Round matches in the Evening Session.

Neither Josh Rock nor Michael van Gerwen have been in strong recent Premier League form, but they are playing opponents that are a step down from the elite in the Premier League.

Josh Rock will have to deal with the crowd being behind his opponent, but going out first in the Evening Session may not be the worst time and he should be able to squeeze through.

The same can be said for Michael van Gerwen who is not playing as consistently as earlier this season, but who can put together a few minutes of very high level darts to pull away from his compatriot.

MY PICKS: Danny Noppert & Ross Smith @ 1.81 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Wessel Nijman to Win & Chris Dobey Over 2.5 180s @ 2.10 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Josh Rock & Michael van Gerwen @ 1.96 Bet365 (1 Unit)

European Darts Trophy: 1-2, - 1.18 Units (3 Units Staked, - 39.33% Yield)

Indian Wells Tennis Day 11 Picks 2026 (Saturday 14th March)

The WTA Semi Finals were played on Friday, but they both looked pretty tough to read.

Instead the focus is on the Saturday ATP Semi Final matches and the top two players in the World Rankings look like they will be very difficult to beat.

Things happen in sport, but this is the direction that has been taken by the Tennis Picks for Day 11 of the tournament and the reasoning can be read below.

Carlos Alcaraz - 4.5 games v Daniil Medvedev: Another solid win was produced in the Quarter Final and that has continued a fine winning sequence for Daniil Medvedev, which has included a title win in Dubai.

He has suggested the courts are playing faster than usual, which has helped in his ability to perform at Indian Wells, but Medvedev will also be well aware that he still needs to find another level if he is going to beat one of the top two players in the world.

Right now it is Carlos Alcaraz who is playing as the World Number 1 should and his form this week in Indian Wells has been very strong.

Of course the Spaniard plays at this level so often that it perhaps does not make anyone sit up and take notice as they would usually, but that also means Carlos Alcaraz has been able to pick up a couple of titles already this season and he still looks the player to beat.

These two players did split the first four meetings on the Tour, but in recent times Alcaraz has been pretty comfortable in the match up and the challenge for Daniil Medvedev is to turn that momentum around.

This match is also being played in a tournament where Carlos Alcaraz has crushed Daniil Medvedev twice before in 2023 and 2024, both times in the Final rather than the Semi Final. While some believe the conditions are slightly different this year, Carlos Alcaraz will have that mental edge in the contest, as well as the fact he has won four of the five hard court matches between these two Grand Slam Champions.

Daniil Medvedev has to make the best use out of his serve if he is going to upset the odds, but will also need to serve very well to make this competitive. He has held 97% of service games played in Indian Wells this year, but you also have to factor in the opponents faced and being that comfortable against someone who returns as effectively as Carlos Alcaraz is a big ask.

The World Number 1 has also been serving really well and in the previous hard court matches between these players, Carlos Alcaraz has held 89% of service games played compared with 76% for Daniil Medvedev.

Those are numbers that cannot be ignored and the Indian Wells conditions have favoured Carlos Alcaraz who has now won the title twice and reached the Semi Final in each of the last five years.

Jannik Sinner - 4.5 games v Alexander Zverev: In the years ahead, you have to believe the likes of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will join an elite list of players that have reached the Semi Final of every Masters event played.

The Big Four of the last era have been joined by Alexander Zverev and the World Number 4 is now looking to add a Major title to his list of accomplishments. There are going to be opportunities for Alexander Zverev, but the pressure is on the German to show he can beat the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz in big events.

On Saturday he has a chance to prove himself when he faces the World Number 2 in the Semi Final in Indian Wells, which has long been considered the unofficial 'fifth Slam'.

The best of three set format should provide another chance with Alexander Zverev finding it tougher to come through those big Grand Slam matches, and it is imperative that he serves well.

Outside of one troubling match, Jannik Sinner has looked supremely confident here at Indian Wells and he crushed Learner Tien in the Quarter Final.

Players of this stature are judged on how many titles they win and so it is a huge disappointment for fans of the World Number 2 that he has yet to make a Final, never mind actually winning a title.

Over the coming weeks he should get a lot closer to Carlos Alcaraz in the World Rankings, but Jannik Sinner knows that he is in an era where big titles mean so much more than World Ranking and he would be very keen to win this one in Indian Wells to remind people that there are a 'Big Two' and not just his Spanish rival coasting to title after title.

Jannik Sinner is playing well enough to win this Semi Final and he has beaten Alexander Zverev five times in a row.

Some of those matches have been really competitive where Zverev has used his serve very effectively, but the last couple of hard court defeats at the end of the 2025 season were worryingly one-sided.

In the last four hard court matches between these top four players, Alexander Zverev has only broken serve once and that is a problem for him against a quality returner like Jannik Sinner.

During the run to the Indian Wells Semi Final, Jannik Sinner has been much stronger returning than Alexander Zverev and that may show up here to set up what could be the Final that all of the fans want to see.

MY PICKS: Carlos Alcaraz - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Jannik Sinner - 4.5 Games @ 2.00 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Indian Wells Update: 11-13, - 3.98 Units (24 Units Staked, - 16.58% Yield)

European Tour 2- European Darts Trophy Day 1 Picks 2026 (Friday 13th March)

Another Premier League Night has ended with Jonny Clayton picking up maximum points and he is well on his way to reaching the Play Offs in the competition he enjoys playing the most.

His participation in the European Darts Trophy is perhaps a little uncertain having played through the pain with his gout making it difficult to walk, especially with this tournament taking place in Germany and perhaps not being an ideal time to travel.

Of course the form through the first two and a half months of the 2026 season has been at such a level that Clayton would love to keep things going and he is not due out until Saturday when the Second Round is played.

Luke Humphries had a productive night in Nottingham, although one that did not end with the Nightly win even after beating Luke Littler and Gian van Veen earlier in the evening.

The Polish Open was won by Littler, but he is not involved this weekend and Luke Humphries has to be amongst the favourites, even at a time when his doubling has been letting him down.

The European Darts Trophy looks like it is wide open this week with Humphries down as a 4-1 favourite, but plenty of the big names are expected to be involved in Germany and it should be three strong days for the fans to enjoy.

The First Round will be played across two sessions on Friday before the same situation for the Second Round on Saturday.

Third Round matches will be completed in the Day Session on Sunday before the traditional ending to the European Tour events with all of the Quarter Final, Semi Final and Final matches played in the Evening Session to produce the second winner on this circuit.

Later this month the Belgian Darts Open will also be played as the European Tour 3 event is scheduled to be played and so it is a very busy time for the biggest names in the PDC with Premier League Nights also to be played on Thursday over the next couple of months.

Ricky Evans & Cameron Menzies double: The Afternoon Session features a number of decent players, but there are some close matches to call and picking these two looks the best approach to take to the eight games scheduled.

Ricky Evans played pretty well at the World Championships, but he has not been able to build on that in 2026 and suffered a relatively early defeat in the UK Open.

However, he should still have enough to beat Florian Preis in the First Round, even if the latter is going to be given plenty of crowd support.

Doubling up Ricky Evans with Cameron Menzies is slightly risky when you think of some of the recent performances offered up by the latter.

A hand injury inflicted on himself has proved to be a big problem for Menzies, but he did come through a couple of Rounds at the Polish Darts Open last month and Paul Krohne may not have enough to use the crowd and land a spot in the Second Round.

Dirk van Duijvenbode & Wessel Nijman double: A double from the Evening Session puts together a couple of Dutchman who should have enough to progress into the Second Round.

Dirk van Duijvenbode has slipped to the World Number 29 position and has been very inconsistent this season, but he faces someone who is struggling much more than himself.

After a decent enough start to the season, Mario Vandenbogaerde has lost his last six matches in a row and some of those have been in close defeats.

This all adds to the mental challenges when it comes to late Legs, and DvD may have too much scoring for him at critical times in this First Round match.

A fellow Dutchman has been in fine form on the floor and Wessel Nijman had a strong run at the Polish Darts Open- there is still more to come from him and he can edge past Cristo Reyes who is a player that can make strides up the World Ranking in the weeks and months ahead.

However, Nijman looks capable of squeezing past him here in Germany in what should be a quality match to end the session.

Kai Gotthardt v Nico Springer: The best of eleven Leg format is always open for an upset or two to occur and Kai Gotthardt can back up some solid form at the UK Open by getting the better of his compatriot in Germany.

These two actually met last week in Minehead and it was Gotthardt who edged past Nico Springer, while the familiarity with this opponent should allow the underdog to settle into this First Round match.

It should be noted that Gotthardt had shown little form going into the UK Open, but those wins will have done him the world of good.

Nico Springer is very talented, but he has just hit a slump in form with three straight defeats under his belt- he has been a little inconsistent on the Tour this year and suffered an early loss at European Tour 1 last month.

This is likely going to be a close match in front of the home fans, but Kai Gotthardt looks a big price to edge through to the Saturday Second Round.

MY PICKS: Ricky Evans & Cameron Menzies Double @ 2.64 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Dirk van Duijvenbode & Wessel Nijman @ 1.82 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Kai Gotthardt @ 2.50 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Darts 2026: 29-37, - 2.87 Units (65 Units Staked, - 4.42% Yield)

Premier League Darts Night 6 Picks 2026 (Thursday 12th March)

Another big Ranking event played on television has been retained by Luke Littler and the World Number 1 continues to be the player to beat, while also looking stronger than his main contenders at key times within matches.

Some fans may be getting a little bored of seeing Littler have things his own way, but that has been far from the case in the Premier League, at least through the opening five nights of the tournament.

No one will be worried that Luke Littler is not going to make the top four and return to the Play Offs, but both the World Number 1 and Luke Humphries will be keen to get going.

Nottingham will host Night 6 of the Premier League and you cannot keep waiting for things to happen once you get to the halfway stage of the tournament later this month- others will be looking to build on strong starts to keep the pressure on the top two players in the world and that makes the Quarter Final matches very important to just continue to tick points over.

Luke Littler would love to pick up another Nightly win to ease any lingering concerns about his form, and that means there is perhaps more pressure on the other Luke, Humphries, to get moving.

The UK Open was won by Luke Littler and he has been enjoying the horse racing at Cheltenham earlier this week, where he was joined by Luke Humphries.

Both will be looking to remind fans of how focused they are and Littler can put a lot of effort into Night 6 knowing he will not be travelling to Germany for the European Tour 2 event beginning on Friday.

Luke Littler has made it clear that he has not enjoyed playing in Germany, but the other seven Premier League players will be heading over to Goettingen where they will begin their bid for a European Tour title in the Second Round on Saturday.

Josh Rock v Stephen Bunting: You would have to say that Josh Rock has been a little unfortunate through the opening five nights of the Premier League- the debutant has yet to win, but has produced his best form against the stronger players in the tournament and underwhelmed in others.

He has been close to picking up a win having narrowly been beaten in a good match against Luke Littler last week, but it was more of the same when Josh Rock lost the UK Open Semi Final to the same opponent.

Reaching the Semi Final has to give him belief and confidence and Rocky also got the better of Stephen Bunting in that tournament.

Much like last year, Stephen Bunting has struggled for consistency in the Premier League and has been all or nothing again.

Four Quarter Final defeats will have dented the confidence, but the one time he did win, Bunting went on and picked up a Nightly win and that means he has not lost as much touch with the top four as he did twelve months ago.

Both players will sense the importance of this Quarter Final, but Josh Rock has had a strong weekend behind him and that may give him the momentum to finally get a Premier League win on the board.

Jonny Clayton & Michael van Gerwen over 2.5 180s: No one will suggest these two players are hitting the maximums at the same rate as Luke Littler, but both Jonny Clayton and Michael van Gerwen have been hitting plenty in their own right.

Two wins at the UK Open will have just gotten van Gerwen back on track after an illness, even if he was blown away by James Wade in a Sixth Round loss.

He wasn't playing badly, and Michael van Gerwen has made a solid start to the Premier League campaign and certainly could be a little stronger with a few days of recovery this week.

Jonny Clayton was undone by his old mate Gerwyn Price in a tight match at the UK Open, but the Welsh Number 1 has continued to play at a very good level in 2026.

It is Clayton who is leading the Premier League table having picked up a Nightly win and winning each of the five Quarter Final matches played- he knows that it is very important to keep points ticking over in a competitive field and Jonny Clayton may just edge this one.

The layers are finding it hard to separate the two and this has the makings of a match that will need at least ten Legs before separating them- both should have the time to reach three maximums each and that looks the play.

Luke Humphries to win & most 180s v Gian van Veen: Go back twelve months and price up this kind of match and you would likely have Luke Humphries down as a big favourite.

He is the favourite on Thursday, but Humphries is not clear and that is largely down to the fact he keeps finding a way to lose tight matches against Gian van Veen.

There has already been a 6-5 loss in the Premier League and a 7-5 loss in a European Tour match in 2026, and those after Luke Humphries beat van Veen 5-0 at the World Masters and looked to have righted the ship.

A tale of the season has been Humphries playing well and finding ways to lose and that has been the case in the Premier League defeat to Gian van Veen when missing a huge amount of doubles.

Treble hitting has been less of an issue for Luke Humphries and he may score more of those than the Dutchman, but you have to believe he cannot keep missing at key times. The World Number 2 needs a big run here in Nottingham and he looks a big price to win a match with the most maximums in this one, even against an opponent like Gian van Veen who has shown tremendous character to win matches when not always playing at his best.

Luke Littler to win & most 180s v Gerwyn Price: Last year there was a suggestion that Luke Littler did not enjoy playing Gerwyn Price, but he has won all four meetings against the Welshman in 2026.

Some of those have been really close and competitive, but Littler is motivated to put it to all of his rivals and he continues to blitz through a few minutes to take matches away from those who think they might just have got his number.

The scary prospect for his main rivals is that Littler seemed to win the UK Open in second gear and that makes him a big favourite to win every tournament he enters.

His overall performance may not have been near his 'A game', but Littler should be very focused on Night 6 of the Premier League with the decision made to skip European Tour 2 in Germany.

Luke Littler will also be aware that he cannot afford to give anything away to Gerwyn Price, who has been playing at a very good level and who reached the UK Open Semi Final last Sunday.

However, it was another tournament where Price just ran out of steam and he may not have the firepower to stick with the World Number 1 in this Quarter Final.

Gerwyn Price has been hitting plenty of maximums of his own, but a focused Luke Littler can be very tough to stop, assuming he is not thinking about Cheltenham any more.

MY PICKS: Josh Rock @ 1.80 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Jonny Clayton & Michael van Gerwen Over 2.5 180s @ 2.62 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Luke Humphries to Win & Most 180s @ 3.10 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Luke Littler to Win & Most 180s @ 2.10 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Darts 2026: 27-35, - 4.07 Units (61 Units Staked, - 6.67% Yield)

Indian Wells Tennis Day 9 Picks 2026 (Thursday 12th March)

The tournament has been a difficult one for the Tennis Picks, but there may be some late momentum that can be carried through to the end of the weekend.

Both selections on Wednesday returned as winners and it may have been better if Katerina Siniakova had been able to complete her Fourth Round match, although she did look spent a couple of days earlier and perhaps did well to manage nine games before withdrawing.

The schedule for the rest of the tournament means all of the Quarter Final matches are set to be played on Thursday.

That will be followed by the WTA Semi Finals on Friday, the ATP Semi Finals on Saturday and both Singles Finals concluding the tournament on Sunday.

It is not the usual ending to these joint Masters events, but the organisers clearly feel that works best and that means an extremely busy Thursday with some of those Quarter Final matches only put together in the Evening Session on Wednesday in the Californian desert.

Four Picks have been made and those can be seen below, while the updated totals for the Indian Wells tournament have also been added.

Jannik Sinner - 5.5 games v Learner Tien: There will be plenty of support for young American Learner Tien in this Indian Wells Quarter Final and an upset in this Round will almost certainly mean cracking the top 20 of the World Rankings for the first time.

Regardless of the result, Learner Tien is set for a new career high World Ranking mark on Monday morning after coming through some very tight matches in each of the previous three Rounds. He has had to spend a considerable amount of court to come through in back to back three setters, but all of this will give the young player a lot of confidence to take into the rest of the season.

Learner Tien has already beaten two players Ranked inside the top 20 so this is not a match that should keep him up at night, although the American will be aware of the size of the task in front of him

Joao Fonseca and a heckler were not enough to put Jannik Sinner off in his own Fourth Round win and the World Number 2 will be very happy with his performance on the court.

He met a younger opponent playing close to his best, but Jannik Sinner was able to keep himself focused and ended up winning the match turning points.

In this Quarter Final, Sinner will know he is going to have more control of the rallies than he was awarded by Joao Fonseca and that always makes players feel more comfortable about what they can produce on the court. Big hitting was taking the racquet out of Sinner's hands in the last Round, but that is not expected to be the case in the Quarter Final, much like when the players met on the hard courts of Beijing in October in a Final that was dominated by the higher Ranked player.

You will expect Learner Tien to have used that match to make adjustments as to how he would prepare and challenge the best players on the court, but he will need to have replenished his energy levels.

The lefty serve can be a little awkward for opponent's to read and Learner Tien is going to have to serve well to try and put some scoreboard pressure on Jannik Sinner.

If he can do that, he can win a few more games than he managed in Beijing, but you still have to give the Italian a big edge in the contest.

Jannik Sinner has been quite considerably the stronger returner of the two players and he can have a bit more time to dictate things in the rallies to turn a few more points in his favour than he did in the Fourth Round.

Covering this number will not be easy, but Sinner looks the right play here and he may just have too much on both sides of the net for the improving Learner Tien.

Aryna Sabalenka - 4.5 games v Victoria Mboko: There are a couple of young players in the WTA Tour who look really close to having a serious breakthrough and not many would back against Victoria Mboko being the first of those to do that at Grand Slam level.

Her growth over the last twelve months has be monumental and the Canadian is stringing wins together.

She has won a big WTA 1000 event in Montreal, but this year Victoria Mboko has been able to back that up by reaching the Final in Doha and she is on another strong run in Indian Wells. She also reached the Fourth Round in the Australian Open and it has taken some of the biggest names on the Tour to stop her runs.

One of those was Aryna Sabalenka who beat Victoria Mboko in straight sets in Melbourne, although it was anything but a one-sided contest, especially after the teenager got to grips with what she was facing in the second set. A Tie-Breaker was needed by Sabalenka to get through on her way to another Final at that tournament, but she was the stronger player and would like to frank that victory.

Aryna Sabalenka is playing in her first tournament since losing the Australian Open Final and she has not been troubled here, although may be the first to admit that this looks like it could be the toughest test to date.

The serve continues to be an advantage for the World Number 1 and she is going to need to serve well to try and contain the obvious threat that Victoria Mboko brings onto the court.

The World Number 10 has been playing well and the dominant win over Amanda Anisimova will have gotten many sitting up and taking notice. She holds a win over Madison Keys and Elena Rybakina this year and so there is nothing in this match that will intimidate Mboko, but she will look to try and get on the front foot and dictate behind her own serve to see if she can rattle the best player on the Tour.

When they met in Melbourne, Aryna Sabalenka was the stronger return player and that is likely going to be the case again, which makes it right to believe she can eventually have a bit too much for the youngster standing across the net.

Covering is going to be challenging considering what we have seen from Victoria Mboko on the hard courts over the last nine months, but Aryna Sabalenka may just be playing at a high enough level to edge past this line set. It may be a Quarter Final with some swings in momentum, but eventually the Belarusian may have done enough to progress with a stylish looking win on the scoreboard.

MY PICKS: Jannik Sinner - 5.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Aryna Sabalenka - 4.5 Games @ 1.85 William Hill (1 Unit)

Daniil Medvedev - 2.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Iga Swiatek - 4.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Indian Wells Update: 9-11, - 3.76 Units (20 Units Staked, - 18.80% Yield)

Indian Wells Tennis Day 8 Picks 2026 (Wednesday 11th March)

The last couple of years have proven to be a little difficult in terms of reading the Indian Wells Masters and the 2026 tournament looks to be no different.

There has been some meat left on the table with a couple of selections coming up short of the criteria and producing the winners that have been lacking so far this week.

On Wednesday, the Fourth Round is concluded at this Masters event and there are some very good looking matches heading out onto the courts, but it would be greatly appreciated if at least two of the three selections enter the Winners' Enclosure and start pulling things back as we approach the business end of the first of two big events to be played in March.

Daniil Medvedev - 3.5 games v Alex Michelsen: The Fourth Round defeat at the Australian Open not only hurt because it came relatively early in the draw, but the manner in which Daniil Medvedev was beaten would have stung.

There may have been something of a hangover after that tournament with early defeats in Rotterdam and Doha on the board, but Daniil Medvedev cruised through the draw at the ATP 500 event in Dubai and won the title.

The World Number 11 concluded the title win just hours after the Middle East erupted into a war that meant airspace was closed and that also meant Daniil Medvedev arrived in Indian Wells a little later than planned. However, that has not impacted the confidence that he would have picked up from that run in Dubai and Daniil Medvedev has impressed through the first two wins at the opening ATP 1000 event of the season.

Another strong run will help Daniil Medvedev move back into the top ten of the World Rankings and it will also offer him a boost as he looks to find a way to bridge the gap between himself and the top two players in the world.

Once again Daniil Medvedev is producing some strong numbers on the hard courts and he is backing up his serve by keeping opponents under pressure on the return.

The returning side of his tennis will be tested by Alex Michelsen who had been struggling for consistency since reaching the Semi Final in Brisbane and before he arrived in Indian Wells. The American had not won consecutive matches since Brisbane, but Michelsen is back on track with three wins at this tournament and that will give him some belief.

Adding to the confidence is the fact he was able to beat Taylor Fritz in the Third Round and Alex Michelsen is already moving his World Ranking back in the right direction with the run he is putting together here.

Reaching the Fourth Round is already the best run he has produced at Indian Wells and he is really making the best use out of the serve in the conditions.

Alex Michelsen is going to be well aware that he needs to continue serving well if he is going to beat Daniil Medvedev for the first time having been beaten in all three previous matches.

Two have been on the hard courts, including here in Indian Wells last year in a match that lasted just two games and the other in the Brisbane Semi Final in January and Alex Michelsen has really struggled to impose his serve on this opponent.

Putting the very short match here at Indian Wells aside, it should be noted that Alex Michelsen only won 53% of points behind serve when facing Daniil Medvedev in Brisbane and he was broken four times in that match. He did create chances against the Medvedev serve, but the biggest points were won by the higher Ranked player and that could be the outcome in this Fourth Round match too.

Daniil Medvedev will recognise that his opponent is playing with some confidence, but the World Number 11 has been in really good nick for a couple of weeks now and he may have the superior returning numbers to edge to a cover of this handicap mark set.

Elina Svitolina - 4.5 games v Katerina Siniakova: The emotion came pouring out of Katerina Siniakova after her Third Round win over defending Champion Mirra Andreeva- she admitted in the post match interview that she had very little left in the tank as the match was concluded and Tuesday is an important recovery day.

Three wins have been produced in Indian Wells, but the World Number 44 has battled for everything earned.

These days the majority of the successes that Katerina Siniakova has is on a Doubles court, but she has long been an effective and awkward Singles player to beat and most of the top players know that. However, prior to the tournament in Indian Wells, Siniakova had not won consecutive Singles matches within an event and she had put together a 2-5 record on the hard courts.

All three wins have been in three sets this week and Katerina Siniakova eight hours on the court.

It is going to add up and take a toll and this is a tough match up for the lower Ranked player against Elina Svitolina who tends to give little away.

All four previous matches between the players have been won by the Ukrainian, including two years ago right here in Indian Wells.

Elina Svitolina is not someone who will take anything for granted when noting that all of those four previous head to head matches have needed to go the distance before the current World Number 9 has found a way through. The numbers have been skewed in favour of Svitolina in those head to head matches, but she will know that she needs to be focused and has to give Katerina Siniakova little encouragement.

The wins have been piling up in 2026, but Elina Svitolina plays with fine margins and that has meant she has sometimes been pushed a bit more than she would have expected within matches. That happened in the Second Round at this latest WTA 1000 event, but Svitolina was comfortable in the Third Round and should have far too much energy for her opponent, which will ultimately show up on the scoreboard.

Iga Swiatek - 2.5 games v Karolina Muchova: The Covid pandemic meant the Indian Wells tournament was moved out of its usual spot in the calendar, but it has been restored to the month of March in recent times.

In four editions of the tournament back in its normal place, Iga Swiatek has manaed to win the title twice and she has been a Semi Finalist in the other two appearances here.

Over the last twelve months, Iga Swiatek has remained a solid force on the hard courts, but Quarter Final runs at the Australian Open and in Doha are underwhelming returns for the World Number 2.

The Pole has been in good nick through the first couple of matches in Indian Wells, but this is a big step up in level when taking on Karolina Muchova, who has won all eight matches played since her Fourth Round loss at the Australian Open. That run has secured one title and Karolina Muchova could soon move back inside the top ten of the World Rankings if she can maintain current form.

She is an all-court player and Muchova has long been seen as someone who can upset the odds and win a Major, but her head to head with Iga Swiatek has been a problem.

In 2026, Karolina Muchova's serve on the hard courts continues to be a big weapon, but Iga Swiatek has matched those numbers and it is the latter who has been a little more effective when it comes to the return of serve.

That has really shown up when it comes to the head to head and it is Iga Swiatek who has won all three previous hard court matches- while the World Number 2 has been broken five times across those matches, Swiatek has broken the Karolina Muchova serve fourteen times and has a real advantage when it comes to the returning numbers produced.

Just twelve months ago they met here at Indian Wells at the same stage of the tournament and Karolina Muchova was able to win just two games as she was brushed aside.

It is very hard to believe she struggles as much as that considering how well she has been playing, but Karolina Muchova may end up being edged out in the opening two sets and that should be enough for Iga Swiatek to get the better of this handicap line.

This is the toughest test that Iga Swiatek will have faced in the tournament, but she is playing well enough to maintain her current advantages over Karolina Muchova and can end the winning run being produced by the latter.

MY PICKS: Daniil Medvedev - 3.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (1 Unit)

Elina Svitolina - 4.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Fred (1 Unit)

Iga Swiatek - 2.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (1 Unit)

Indian Wells Update: 7-11, - 5.20 Units (18 Units Staked, - 28.89% Yield)