ATP tournament in Indian Wells, 2nd round, Friday, 08.03.2024
Yannick Hanfmann hasn’t played in the Masters at Indian Wells for several years, but now his time has come in 2024! He has already drawn attention to himself with a win, and he can now continue in the same vein.
Of course, his opponent in Round 2 won’t be any easier, the German is the underdog, although the odds are still in his favor. What exactly does that mean?
I’ll tell you in my Hanfmann Griekspoor tip and also explain why I can more than imagine a set win here!
2015 and 2018. Out in qualifying. No main draw. Many years off. No, with Yannick Hanfmann we really don’t need to do any historical analysis to see whether the Masters at Indian Wells is one of his favorite tournaments or not!
After many seasons, he has finally returned to the tournament and, lo and behold, he got off to a good start with a win! The 32-year-old started off on court against Pedro Cachin and put in a strong performance.
Although he lost the first set 6-7, the German didn’t let that put him off his stride. 6-4, 6-1, he got stronger with every rally and in the end deserved to advance to the 2nd round
60% of Hanfmann’s break chances were won, 75% of the points he won on his first serve were also very strong. The semi-finalist at the Australian Open (in doubles with Jan-Lennard Struff) is finally looking to go really far again.
He has only managed one win in the last three tournaments, Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Mariano Navone and Alejandro Tabilo were too strong. In other words, no big names, so Hanfmann will have to really stretch himself on Friday.
Tallon Griekspoor is anything but an easy opponent; it’s not for nothing that he is 30 places ahead of Hanfmann in the world rankings (27 to 57). However, there is only one player who looks back on the two previous duels with fond memories
First of all: the two have met twice, but never in a main draw. The matches took place in 2018 and 2021, both of which went to the German. So is this a good omen for the current encounter?
Hanfmann would of course like it to be, although the odds, as can also be seen at Interwetten, with an average of 1.40 to 2.70, suggest that Griekspoor will come out on top.
The Dutchman will only start the tournament in the second round and initially enjoyed a bye. Will the 27-year-old be happy to face a German opponent? After all, he also had a German to thank for reaching the top in Dubai!
Griekspoor currently has to manage the balancing act of playing singles and doubles, having won a not insignificant tournament together with Jan-Lennard Struff just a few days ago
He didn’t “sacrifice” the singles due to the early exit, but it was rather the case that a 6-7, 6-7 against Alexander Bublik just looks damn unfortunate. Griekspoor has not only shown why he is in the top 30 at his home tournament in Rotterdam this year.
There he knocked out Lorenzo Musetti, Hubert Hurkacz and Emil Ruusuvuori, only Jannik Sinner was one size too big. I’ve already mentioned the damn close result against Bublik: Things went very similarly in Rotterdam too.
Six tiebreaks in three matches, three against Hurkacz alone – someone seems to specialize in tight matches! Will we see the same thing against Hanfmann? Incidentally, Griekspoor himself is only competing in Indian Wells for the third time.
Last year, he started with a 7-6, 7-6 win against Guido Pella, so such a result doesn’t just seem to suit him in 2024. However, he then had the misfortune of coming up against Carlos Alcaraz (6-7, 3-6)…
My hemp man Griekspoor tip
What’s next for Yannick Hanfmann here in Indian Wells? After a strong comeback in the first round, the veteran will be hoping for a successful second round, but of course he knows what Tallon Griekspoor is capable of.
We have always known the Dutchman as a player who stands for close results. Since I think Hanfmann is an absolute fighter who doesn’t let himself be rattled by a deficit, my tip for you is:
The German will take at least one set!
