Arthur Fils will face Nuno Borges at the 2024 ATP Indian Wells tennis tournament in an upcoming match (2024 BNP Paribas Open from California). Fils is a -163 favorite heading into the match (bet365). These are odds that I think overrate the French player a little bit. My Fils vs Borges prediction is that Fils will win UNDER 12.5 games in the match. Furthermore, at the end of this article, I include a quick pick for the Eubanks vs Nakashima match.
Order of Play: Right-click/Open in the New Tab to check match times: subject to change
Arthur Fils vs Nuno Borges Head-to-Head Series
The Fils vs Borges h2h is 1-1, using bet365's stats. Only one of their matches was at the tour level, a recent match in their history. The two players met in the Auckland draw very early in 2024. Fils won decisively, 6-2, 6-0. From that point of view, Fils as just a -163 favorite could be held to mean that he is very underrated. However, let's look at the situation heading into Indian Wells.
The Draw: Right-click/Open in the New Tab for the draw for the 2024 BNP Paribas Open
Arthur Fils's Recent Tennis Results
Since going out in the second round of the Australian Open, Fils has only played in claycourt matches. Furthermore, he did not play well in them.
He went just 1-3 in Buenos Aires, Rio, and Santiago combined. going just 3-5 on sets played against players who are not among the ATP's elite. His preference for clay, when there were hardcourt events that he could have gotten into, is enough to suggest that he has his mind on the 2024 French Open, the clay court Grand Slam in 2-3 months. Fils is a French national so it would make some sense that he would be partial to clay a little earlier than most of the top players are.
Nuno Borges's Recent Tennis Results
Borges made the fourth round of the Australian Open through Grigor Dimitrov and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The Portuguese player would not have survived that long in the Grand Slam unless he had some hardcourt aptitude. Since the Aussie, he entered three hardcourt events, going 3-3 in Delray Beach, Los Cabos, and Acapulco. Those are somewhat disappointing results following his good run at Melbourne Park.
Fils vs Borges Prediction: Fils UNDER 12.5 games won
The loss in Auckland for Borges is hard to ignore because it was so comprehensive at 12 games to 2. But you cannot fully trust Fils in the upcoming match because he was in clay-court events recently. I think the best bet is to bet against Fils' game total for games won. It is set at 12.5 and I recommend taking the UNDER at +120 (bet365).
There are three things I like about the bet. Firstly, the odds are on the plus side for you. Secondly, if Fils does duplicate his efforts against Borges from Auckland, then you win on a straight-sets result, provided there is no 7-5 or 7-6 score. But the bet also hits if Fils is not prepared for the Indian Wells tournament (ie. he could lose to Borges while winning fewer than 12.5 games). I don't know that you can have any confidence in Fils after he played badly on clay and now switches over to the cement, having not contested a match on the surface in a month and a half.
Borges vs Fils prediction: Draw at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open
The winner of this match will have a look at a low seed, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Borges has to like that possible matchup, knowing he beat the Spanish player at Melbourne Park.
Quick Picks: Christopher Eubanks vs Brandon Nakashima
There isn't enough time to cover all of the first-round matches in detail. To address that, I've decided to include some quick picks at the end of select articles.
Christopher Eubanks is a tough server on the hardcourt surface. He is No. 7 over the last 52 weeks according to the ATP stats for the cement. When you isolate ace totals, he is 5th on the ATP Tour with 10.1 per match on average on the hardcourt over the last 52 weeks. In the Eubanks vs Nakashima match, I like Eubanks as an underdog over Nakashima in the first round.
Additional reading: All previews for upcoming tennis matches!
