The time change in the United States means we are going to be seeing the Indian Wells tournament beginning an hour earlier in the United Kingdom than the opening four days at the event.
Fans of US Sport have to enjoy this brief period when the Eastern Time Zone is only four hours behind London time, especially as the UK clocks will not change for a couple of weeks.
It won't make picking winners any easier as the tournament moves into the Third Round, but there are four selections from the schedule with stronger matches now beginning to take place- this remains a big tournament with many considering that 'fifth Major', and having deep runs here is important for those looking to build their Ranking Points and improve potential Seeding spots for the clay court and grass court seasons soon coming up.
The Tennis Picks have been very mixed in the early part of the tournament, but there is plenty of time to get things back on track over the coming days.
Alexander Zverev - 3.5 games v Brandon Nakashima: Only one tournament has been played by Alexander Zverev since he was beaten in the Australian Open Semi Final and he barely made an impact in Acapulco.
You have to believe that Zverev is now at an age and a stage of his career where the Majors take on a lot more focus compared with the rest of the tournaments on the Tour, but he will still want to build some momentum ahead of the run into the clay court season. Two North American hard court events give him an opportunity, but Alexander Zverev knows that this is a potentially awkward Second Round match.
A win over Matteo Berrettini and in the fashion it was produced will certainly help Alexander Zverev settle into this tournament, but there will be ample respect for the opponent.
The World Number 30 reached the Semi Final in Acapulco last week, and Brandon Nakashima has come through a Second Round match without suffering too much.
He also reached the Final in a warm up tournament ahead of the Australian Open, although Nakashima will be very disappointed with his effort in Melbourne.
Brandon Nakashima has held 90% of his service games played on the hard courts this season, but that number has dipped to 80% when facing top 20 Ranked opponents. There has also been a vulnerability about his return performances, and that has really be exploited by the top players, which will give Alexander Zverev confidence.
Adding to that is the fact that Zverev has won all five previous matches against Brandon Nakashima and there has been a big advantage in favour of the German when it comes to the serving numbers.
Three of those wins have been on hard courts where Brandon Nakashima has held 71% of service games played compared with Alexander Zverev's 97% mark.
Even on a slower hard court, Alexander Zverev has the edge and he may do just enough to find the Breaks of serve needed to push clear of this handicap spread.
There have been a couple of disappointing losses on the Alexander Zverev ledger this year, but his numbers continue to be very strong on the hard courts.
Alexander Zverev has not always enjoyed his time in 'Tennis Paradise', but he should be unperturbed by the match up and that should help the World Number 4 settle for a solid win on the scoreboard.
Jakub Mensik - 1.5 games v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: Both of these players are very comfortable on the hard courts and that makes this a fascinating Third Round match.
There are similarities with the level of performance that Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Jakub Mensik have produced on the hard courts, although the latter has surprisingly been the more effective return player.
This should be a key factor on the courts at Indian Wells and Jakub Mensik has been playing with real confidence even as he has taken on some of the stronger players on the Tour.
Unlike the 20 year old, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has had his problems when he has faced top 50 Ranked opponents on the hard courts. His service numbers have not been impacted too much in those matches, but the Spaniard has really had his problems when it comes to the return of serve and that could be a difference between the players in this Third Round contest.
You cannot overlook the match up here though- Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has won the last four between the players and three of those have been on the hard courts. The Spaniard dominated when the players met at the Canadian Masters in August in the lead up to the US Open, while he came from 2-0 down to beat Mensik at the Australian Open last year, and those have to be considered ahead of this Third Round match.
That does raise a couple of doubts, but the younger player still has room to grow and he may just have enough out of his return game to edge past Davidovich Fokina.
In the hard court matches, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina has had a slight edge in terms of points won behind serve, but six months on from the last meeting, Jakub Mensik may just turn things around to a level where he can edge to the win.
MY PICKS: Alexander Zverev - 3.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Jakub Mensik - 1.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet Fred (1 Unit)
Amanda Anisimova - 3.5 Games @ 1.91 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Coco Gauff - 5.5 Games @ 1.87 Bet Victor (1 Unit)
Indian Wells Update: 4-5, - 1.85 Units (9 Units Staked, - 20.56% Yield)
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