Indian Wells: Our three men in the quarter finals...

Thursday 12th March 2026

It only takes one. That’s what I always say…

Over at the men’s event in Indian Wells, we’ve got three of our big-odds, Ones to Watch selections through to the quarter finals…

That’s three of the final eight on our side. And at good prices, too:

Learner Tien @ 150/1 - 100/1 Each Way (1/2 odds 1-2 places)

Arthur Fils @ 150/1 - 100/1 Each Way (1/2 odds 1-2 places)

Daniil Medvedev @ 25/1 - 20/1 Each Way (1/2 odds 1-2 places)

In this morning’s revised Outright Winner market for ATP Indian Wells, the bookies are now betting with reduced Each Way terms of 1/3 odds - and some are only going Win Only.

Our young pair Tien and Fils are now trading at 50/1 each. With the vastly experienced Medvedev now down to 16/1.

Of that trio, from what I’ve seen so far (and I watch a LOT if not all of the matches). Medvedev is looking calm and confident… Fils is looking very much up for it, with his exciting and explosive brand of tennis a joy to behold... Tien is a more measured and attritional player, but that is not a criticism; you have to play to your strengths…

Fils is a slight outsider to beat Alexander Zverev this evening (the day’s play starts from 6pm UK time), with the German world no.4 a long-established Top 10 name. The overall head-to-head is 4-2 to Sascha Zverev, but Arthur is improving all the time, and the young Frenchman won their only previous match played on outdoor hard courts (Miami last March). In 10 previous visits here, Zverev has never gotten past the quarter finals.

Tien has one of the toughest tasks in sport right now, taking on the relentless hitting power & accuracy of world no.2 Jannik Sinner. The Italian star hasn’t been at his absolute top level though, so I’m not ruling out Learner digging in, in pursuit of a big upset, in front of the home fans.

Medvedev is priced as the favourite to dethrone Jack Draper. The young Brit has been impressive in defending his Indian Wells title, especially so last night, testing his endurance levels on the comeback from injury, in a three-set battle with Novak Djokovic, which went right to the wire in a final-set tiebreak.

So, to recap this morning. We’ve got three names in the draw in the quarter finals of one of the biggest tournaments of the year. And when we’re going for big-odds glory - which is what we’re always aiming for - then the message remains steadfast, and positive as ever: It only takes one…

Enjoy the tennis…

P.S
I’ll be back this afternoon with this week’s Notes from the Tour article.

Best wishes,

Oliver Upstone

Ones to Watch