Ricky’s tennis picks for Sunday in Indian Wells, including Paul vs. Fonseca
Ricky’s tennis picks for Sunday in Indian Wells, including Paul vs. Fonseca
As the BNP Paribas Open enters its third round on Sunday, the seeds begin to face off. One such duel is an all-American clash between Ben Shelton and Learner Tien. Tommy Paul will face Joao Fonseca, an unseeded player.
Here are my predictions for two of Sunday’s finest games.
Joao Fonseca versus (23) Tommy Paul
Fonseca began the season with a back ailment and battled through the first two months of 2026, but he is finally heating up. The world’s No. 35 warmed up for the Indian Wells Masters by winning the MGM Slam 10-point tiebreaker exhibition in Las Vegas, and he is already in the third round. Fonseca opened with a 7-6(2), 6-4 win over Raphael Collignon before defeating Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 on Saturday after saving two match points.
The 19-year-old Brazilian will have a night-session treatment on Sunday before facing Paul, who defeated him 7-6(7), 7-6(3) on Madrid’s red clay last season. Paul has already won 12 matches this year, including a runner-up finish in Delray Beach and a 6-1, 6-2 defeat against Zizou Bergs on Friday. The 24th-ranked American should win this one since he is playing well and has the advantage in rest.
Pick Paul in 3.
(8) Ben Shelton versus (25) Learner Tien
Shelton is already experiencing a second life in Tennis Paradise. The 23-year-old American was plainly under the weather in his first-round match against countryman Reilly Opelka on Friday, but he held serve the entire time, and a single break in the third set was enough for a 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-3 win. Shelton is presently 11-2 in 2026, with a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open and an ATP 500 championship in Dallas.
Next up for the world No. 8 is another all-American match against Tien, who defeated him 6-4, 7-6(2) on Mallorca grass last summer. Tien is currently ranked 27th in the world despite being only 20 years old. The lefty made it to the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park and the semifinals at Delray Beach before defeating Adam Walton in straight sets on Friday in IW. Even if Shelton is 100 percent, Tien has a solid chance of winning.