ALL-AMERICAN CLASH BETWEEN YOUNG AND KOZLOV HEADLINES DAY 2 OF ATP MEN’S TENNIS IN INDIAN WELLS BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 9th March 2017

ALL-AMERICAN CLASH BETWEEN YOUNG AND KOZLOV HEADLINES DAY 2 OF ATP MEN'S TENNIS IN INDIAN WELLS BY RICKY DIMON

epaselect epa05839879 Joao Sousa of Portugal (R) returns a shot to Diego Schwartzman of Argentina (L) during their first round match at the 2017 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, California, USA, 09 March 2017. EPA/LARRY W. SMITH |

Three–and only three–American men will be taking the match court on Friday at the BNP Paribas Open. Two of them have to go head-to-head, as Donald Young and Stefan Kozlov are set to square off. Taylor Fritz is also on the schedule. Ricky previews three of the best matchups and makes his predictions.

Donald Young vs. (WC) Stefan Kozlov

Young’s season is off to an impressive start, with consecutive semifinal showings in Memphis and Delray Beach last month. The world No. 60 has not lost his opening match at any of four ATP events in 2017 (second-round finishes at the Australian Open and in Acapulco). Young has fallen in the Indian Wells first round three of the last four years, but he has reached the third round on three occasions during his career.

Up first for Young on Friday is Kozlov, who trails the head-to-head series 1-0. Their only previous meeting came last summer on the grass of Newport, where Young coasted 6-0, 6-4. At 19 years old, though, Kozlov has started to advance in the rankings and he currently registers only one spot off his career-high mark at No. 116. The Florida native recently advanced to the Tempe Challenger quarterfinals before successfully qualifying in Acapulco with defeats of Hyeon Chung and Jared Donaldson (lost to Ernesto Escobedo in three sets). Kozlov’s time may be coming soon, but right now Young appears to be at a different level.

Pick: Young in 2

Benoit Paire vs. (WC) Taylor Fritz

Paire and Fritz will be facing each other for the first time in their careers on Friday. Fritz would have been expected to earn direct entry into this Masters 1000 event based on how he performed–and how high he soared in the rankings–in 2016, but that did not turn out to be the case. The 19-year-old peaked at No. 53 thanks to a breakout run early last season before suffering a relative collapse last summer and fall. Fritz is 2-4 at the ATP level this year and coming off an opening-round loss as a qualifier in Acapulco to Adrian Mannarino.

As can be expected, Paire has been up and down in the early going this year. The Frenchman advanced to the Chennai and Montpellier semis to go along with a third-round performance Down Under, but he has endured four first-round exits–including a current streak of three strraight. It is safe to say Paire is in a rut at the moment, and when that is the case he generally has a hard time digging himself out.

Pick: Fritz in 3

Dustin Brown vs. Dan Evans

Evans and Brown will be squaring off for the second time in their careers on Friday. Their only previous showdown just occurred in Dubai, where Evans got the job done 6-2, 6-3. The result was hardly surprising even though this looks like a competitive matchup on paper, because Brown has been struggling with a back injury since retiring from a Montpellier quarterfinal contest against Benoit Paire in February. The 82nd-ranked German is 4-6 this season and 0-3 in his past three matches.

Last year was a good one for a rejuvenated Evans and 2017 is shaping up to be even better. The Brit sports a 9-4 record that has up to a career-high ranking of No. 41. Highlights include a runner-up finish in Sydney and a fourth-round showing at the Aussie Open. Even if Brown is 100 percent from a physical standpoint, there is no reason to think this will turn out any differently than what happened in Dubai.

Pick: Evans in 2