Four seeded tournaments are on Monday’s Indian Wells schedule, including Casper Ruud vs. Valentin Vacherot and Alex de Minaur vs. Cameron Norrie. Places in the round of 16 are at stake.
(24) Valentin Vacherot vs. (14) Casper Ruud
The sample size is still too small to know if Vacherot is a Masters 1000 professional, but he is certainly thriving at this level in the early stages of his main tour career. Perhaps the most shocking tennis story of 2025 was Vacherot’s title in Shanghai, where he defeated his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final. World No. 26 from Monaco quickly followed that with a quarterfinal appearance in Paris. Vacherot is off to a strong start to the season, with an eight-match winning streak – including a 7-5, 7-5 loss to Nuno Borges at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday.
Next up for the 27-year-old on Monday is his first game against Ruud. While conditions at Indian Wells should be perfect for the 13th-ranked Norwegian, he sits at just 8-5 in the tournament with just two trips to the third round and no quarterfinals. Ruud ousted Alexander Shevchenko 6-1, 7-6(4) on Saturday, but now faces a much stronger opponent who can force plays and exploit the No. 1 seed’s backhand. 14.
Pick: Vacherot at 3
(27) Cameron Norrie vs. (6) Alex de Minaur
De Minaur and Norrie will be fighting each other for the fifth time in their career on Monday. The head-to-head series is tied at 2-2, with both of Norrie’s victories coming in the United Cup – most recently in the third tiebreaker for the 2024 event. De Minaur won in three sets at the 2022 Barcelona ATP 500 and in straight sets at the 2023 Toronto Masters.
Norrie is a former champion at Indian Wells, having lifted the trophy in an improbable manner five years ago. The 29th-ranked Brit is off to a good start this time around, beating Mackenzie McDonald 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday. De Minaur is only 9-7 in the tournament without a trip to the quarterfinals. Therefore, this game can be more competitive than one would expect just by looking at the rankings. However, De Minaur will do well against the in-form Sebastian Korda and should be able to fight his way into the fourth round.
Pick: De Minaur at 3
