Novak Djokovic is doing his best to outpace Father Time.
The 38-year-old upset Jannik Sinner en route to a runner-up finish at the Australian Open in January, and he’s now got his sights set on a deep run at the Indian Wells Masters, which is his first event since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in Melbourne.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion is a -134 favorite over defending champion Jack Draper on Wednesday night.
Djokovic vs. Draper odds, prediction
Djokovic, the No. 3 player in the world at the moment, did drop a set in each of his first two matches at Indian Wells, but that’s not all that surprising given the long break he took between events.
And at this point in his career, we can trust that the Serb knows how to balance rust versus rest.
That said, there are reasons to be concerned about Djokovic’s form ahead of this tilt.
Djokovic has admitted that he’s dealing with an injury to his right forearm, and he’s also playing at an event that has been a thorn in his side for the last decade.
The Serb has not been to the fourth round at Indian Wells since 2017, and he’s just 4-5 in his last nine matches at this event, which includes the two victories this year.
Of course, Draper is no stranger to dealing with injuries.
The Englishman is one of the most talented players on the ATP Tour, but he’s not been able to string together enough results because of injury issues.
The 24-year-old was forced to skip the Australian Open this year, and he’s only played seven matches since last year’s Wimbledon.
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That said, Draper does have a clean bill of health going into this tournament, and he was close to flawless in his last victory over World No. 19 Francisco Cerundolo.
In a vacuum, Djokovic would have a slight edge over Draper at this point in their careers, but when you add in the injury concerns for the favorite and his recent history at Indian Wells compared to Draper’s, it’s hard to make a case for Novak to be favored in this situation.
The Play: Jack Draper moneyline (+110, FanDuel)
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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
