The Indian Wells Open is on to the Round of 16. One of the biggest matches of the day sees World No. 4 Alexander Zverev take on World No. 22 Frances Tiafoe. The match is expected to begin around 4:00. p.m. ET.
Zverev is -266 on the moneyline, while Tiafoe is +213. This is my best bet to target on DraftKings Sportsbook for the Tiafoe vs. Zverev match.
Alexander Zverev vs. Frances Tiafoe Preview
Frances Tiafoe is starting to find his game again. Tiafoe got as high as No. 10 in the world in 2023, but his game took a dip over the last two years. However, Tiafoe has had a decent start to 2026. He was knocked out of the Australian Open by Alex de Minaur, the hometown hero and No. 6 player in the world. Tiafoe then made the quarterfinals in Delray, losing a hard-fought match to Learner Tien, and made the Mexican Open Final ahead of Indian Wells. When Tiafoe was playing his best tennis back in 2023, he made the semifinals here at Indian Wells and is hoping to go on another run as he climbs back up the world rankings.
Alexander Zverev is in a tough place in his career. He has been consistently a top-five player in the world for the past several years. However, he cannot break through and win a major. He has made it to at least the semifinals in 10 Grand Slams since 2020, including the 2026 Australian Open. However, he has never won a major title despite being in the final four 10 different times. Indian Wells has never been Zverev’s best venue either. He has never made it past the quarterfinals at this event, including getting knocked out in the Round of 64 last year. Zverev needs to get his game as sharp as possible for the summer Grand Slam run before this window of his career has passed him by without a major title.
Alexander Zverev vs. Frances Tiafoe Pick, Best Bet
My best bet for this match is for Alexander Zverev to win by a score of two sets to one. Frances Tiafoe should put up a good fight in this match and steal a set from Zverev. However, if this gets to a third set, Alexander Zverev has the firepower to survive and get through to the next round. Zverev has never been great at Indian Wells, and it has not been smooth sailing this year either. In the previous round, Brandon Nakashima pushed Zverev to a third set.
Frances Tiafoe has been the much sharper player through two rounds. He defeated fellow American Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-2 in the Round of 64. Tiafoe then defeated World No. 15 Flavio Cobolli 6-1, 6-2 in the Round of 32. Tiafoe is playing great tennis and should give Zverev a good fight. However, ultimately, Zverev should come out on top. These two have faced off nine times before, and Zverev has won eight of those nine matchups. Tiafoe’s lone win against Zverev came all the way back in 2017. This should be a good three-set battle between two experienced players, but the quality will win out in the end.
