Indian Wells Predictions, Preview and Full Schedule Ahead of Day 8

As day eight of the BNP Paribas Open gets underway on Wednesday, we preview a mouth-watering schedule along with a handful of Indian Wells predictions.

Indian Wells Day 8 Preview

Tuesday’s action revealed the first quarter-finalists of Indian Wells 2025, with the rest of the round of 16 matches concluding on Wednesday across the men’s and women’s draw.

It could be a pivotal day for those Americans chasing glory on home soil as Coco Gauff gets proceedings underway against Belinda Bencic, before recently-crowned Australian Open champion Madison Keys takes on 19th seed Donna Vekic.

There hasn’t been a female American winner at Indian Wells since Serena Williams in 2001.

On the other side of the draw, 2022 champion Taylor Fritz will no doubt have to tap into the kind of form we saw three years ago if he is to make it past British number one Jack Draper – who enjoyed a spectacular run at the Dubai Open last month –  in what could be the defining match of day eight.

Carlos Alcaraz remains hot on the trail for a three-peat of trophies at Indian Wells, and a must-watch round of 16 clash with Grigor Dimitrov pits the old guard against the new generation.

Indian Wells Predictions – March 12th

Coco Gauff to Win in Three Sets vs Belinda Bencic

The first two rounds of Coco Gauff’s Indian Wells campaign have been far from plain sailing, first squeezing past 52nd ranked Moyuka Uchijima in three sets before surviving a testy first set against Maria Sakkari in the round of 32.

When she has begun to find her feet Gauff looks irresistible, particularly on her backhand and approaching the net which has carried her through the first two rounds.

Her opening match in California saw the return of a mental block with her serve, however, as she ed an astonishing 21 double faults throughout the match – which very nearly cost her.

Gauff’s service game was much more consistent last time out, hitting just nine double faults, and her resolve to see out a nervy second set against Sakkari showed she has the mettle to go far at Indian Wells.

The American had to ward off four break points during a daring push from Sakkari, which saw Gauff hit four double faults when serving for the match.

Although her game has been rocky since the start of the year, she has the abundance of talent to see off 58th ranked Belinda Bencic on Wednesday.

Carlos Alcaraz to Win in Straight Sets vs Grigor Dimitrov

It is a quick turnaround for Grigor Dimitrov, who goes from an olden goldies clash against veteran Gael Monfils to a man chasing a third Indian Wells title in a row at the age of 21.

Dimitrov scraped through in a match for the ages, as the soon-to-be 34-year-old survived two tiebreaks against a man five years his senior in Monfils to eventually win in three sets.

What effect that brutal late-night three hour marathon will have on the Bulgarian is unclear, but he also had to overcome a thumb injury.

From 2011 US Open to 2025 Indian Wells…

Besties @GrigorDimitrov @Gael_Monfils 🫶 pic.twitter.com/C4Bqd4t3M3

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) March 11, 2025

Those two factors combine for less-than-ideal preparation against four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz, who looks primed and ready for another shot at Indian Wells glory.

The Spaniard – who is set to release a new documentary with Netflix –  is yet to drop a set and has only given up 12 games across his opening two matches, and will be far fresher than his opponent having played for a total of two and a half hours so far – less than Dimitrov’s win over Monfils alone.

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