Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they battle for a quarterfinal spot at the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday.
They have not faced each other since 2021, when Draper — then just 19 years old — threw a jolt into the home crowd at Wimbledon by taking the first set of their first-round match. Of course, Djokovic would proceed to dominate 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2 on his eventual way to the title.
Fast forward five years and Draper is now a Masters 1000 champion (Indian Wells 12 months ago), a Grand Slam semifinalist (2024 U.S. Open), and a former No. 4 player in the world. The British left-hander currently finds himself at 14th in the rankings due to recurring injuries, but his 2026 comeback is off to a decent start. Draper is 4-1 in five matches this season and he was especially impressive in a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Francisco Cerundolo on Monday.
Djokovic lifted the Indian Wells trophy a whopping five times between 2008 and 2016, but this tournament has been a disaster for him over the past decade. The 38-year-old Serb was a ridiculous 2-5 in his last seven Indian Wells matches heading into this appearance and he has not even reached the quarterfinals since his last triumph in 2016. Djokovic managed to win his first two matches of the fortnight, but he dropped a set to both Kamil Majchrzak and Aleksandar Kovacevic.
Not only is motivation low for Djokovic these days at any tournament outside of the Grand Slam level, but he is also dealing with an apparent arm injury. This is a fantastic upset opportunity for Draper, who is the defending champion and is looking more and more like his real self with each match during his comeback.
Pick: Draper in 3