The Indian Wells Open is on to the quarterfinals. One of the biggest matches of the day sees World No. 2 Jannik Sinner take on World No. 27 Learner Tien. The match begins at 4:00. p.m. ET.
Sinner is -1420 on the Moneyline, while Tien is +970. This is my best bet to target on DraftKings Sportsbook for the Sinner vs. Tien match.
Learner Tien vs. Jannik Sinner Preview
There is an argument to be made that Learner Tien is the best American men’s tennis player in the world at the moment. Looking at the live ATP rankings, Tien has passed Tommy Paul and sits just one spot behind Frances Tiafoe. He still has a while to go to catch up to Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton, who both rank in the top 10 in the world. However, Learner Tien just knocked out Ben Shelton out of this tournament in the Round of 32, while Fritz also exited in the Round of 32. There have been far too many disappointing early exits by Paul, Tiafoe, Shelton, and Fritz over the past couple of years, while Tien continues to improve. At just 20 years old, he would be my pick to be the next American man to win a Grand Slam.
Jannik Sinner is chasing his first-ever Indian Wells Open title. Sinner missed Indian Wells last year while serving his suspension. In the two previous years, he made it to the semifinals but lost to Carlos Alcaraz both times. Sinner has never played his best tennis at Indian Wells, and he has not been playing his best tennis to start this year. Sinner was upset by Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open to start the year. The only tournament he played ahead of Indian Wells was the Qatar Open. Sinner was upset by Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals of that tournament. In the previous round here at Indian Wells, Joao Fonseca pushed Sinner to a tiebreaker in both sets, but Sinner won both of the tiebreakers. He is capable of elevating his game to another level at any time, but we have yet to see it in 2026.
Learner Tien vs. Jannik Sinner Pick, Best Bet
My best bet for this match is on Learner Tien to cover the spread of +1.5 sets. Jannik Sinner has simply not looked like his best self this year. From his early exits in Australia and Qatar, to his shaky play against far inferior players like Joao Fonseca. Fonseca easily could have stolen a set off Sinner if he had won just one of those tiebreakers. Learner Tien just continues to improve and find ways to compete against top players. At 20 years old, he already has six wins against top-10 players, including defeating Ben Shelton in this tournament. Learner Tien defeated Alexander Zverev in Mexico when Zverev was the No. 2 player in the world. Tien might not pull off the monumental upset over Sinner, but he has a great chance to win at least one set. That makes this a great bet to make at odds of +220 on DraftKings Sportsbook.
