First-round competition at the Indian Wells Masters wraps up on Thursday, when familiar foes Grigor Dimitrov and Terence Atmane square off. Delray Beach champion Sebastian Korda faces Francisco Comesana.
Terence Atmane vs. Grigor Dimitrov
Dimitrov and Atmane will be going head-to-head in a second consecutive tournament when they meet again in round one of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday. They have split their two previous encounters; Dimitrov prevailed 7-6(3), 6-3 at the 2024 Rome Masters before Atmane just recently got the job done 6-3, 6-3 last week in Acapulco.
Still, there are reasons to think that Dimitrov will turn the tide. Every match he plays, he gets further and further removed from his 2025 pectoral injury that he infamously sustained at Wimbledon against Jannik Sinner. The 34-year-old Bulgarian has also thrived in Indian Wells, where he has reached the semifinals, the quarters, and the fourth round twice in his last five trips. Atmane has not been able to sustain any success since his 2025 Cincinnati semifinal run and he has never won a match in the desert (0-2 all time, with both losses in qualifying).
Pick: Dimitrov in 3
Sebastian Korda vs. Francisco Comesana
Korda heads into Indian Wells with the momentum from his Delray Beach title less than two weeks ago. The 37th-ranked American rolled to his third ATP winners’ trophy with victories over Alex Michelsen, No. 2 seed Casper Ruud, eventual Acapulco champion Flavio Cobolli, and world No. 24 Tommy Paul. Although Korda has never done much in Indian Wells, he once led Rafael Nadal 5-2 in the third set during a second-round match in 2022 before failing to seal the deal.
Up first for the 25-year-old on Thursday is Comesana, whom he has never faced. Comesana is just 3-6 this season and coming off a dreadful Golden Swing even on his preferred clay-court surface. The 82nd-ranked Argentine lost in the Rosario Challenger second round, the Buenos Aires first round, the Rio de Janeiro first round, and the Santiago second round. Comesana is making his first-ever appearance in Indian Wells, and it is an appearance that probably won’t last long.
Pick: Korda in 2