2026 Indian Wells

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Hubert Hurkacz vs Aleksandar Kovacevic Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Hurkacz to edge first round clash

Andrew Hendrie

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Last updated: Thu 05 Mar 2026 05:30

Andrew Hendrie 05 Mar 2026

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Hubert Hurkacz vs Aleksandar Kovacevic predictions for Thursday's ATP Indian Wells R1
Both players feature regularly in matches with lots of tiebreaks
Kovacevic has lost all four previous matches in the desert
The match is scheduled to start around 8.00am AEDT on Friday March 6

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Hubert Hurkacz (Photo by Getty Images)

Hubert Hurkacz vs Aleksandar Kovacevic Tips, Prediction & Live Stream

Hubert Hurkacz will be hoping to regain the sort of form that saw him start the year on fire when he meets Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round of the Indian Wells Masters on Thursday.

Hubert Hurkacz vs Aleksandar Kovacevic Tips, Prediction & Live Stream
Hurkacz vs Kovacevic Stats & Trends
Hurkacz vs Kovacevic Head To Head
Hubert Hurkacz Form Analysis
Aleksandar Kovacevic Form Analysis
Hurkacz vs Kovacevic Live Stream

Hurkacz was in sizzling form to launch the season, going 4-1 in the United Cup and helping Poland capture the title. However, he's now riding a four-match losing streak. Meanwhile, Kovacevic has failed to win back-to-back matches since Brisbane during the opening week of the season and is a horror 0-4 lifetime at Indian Wells.

Big match for both as they look to get back to winning ways. My main play here is for at least one tiebreak. These two would be amongst the top 10 for tiebreaks played on tour and it would be surprising if we didn't see at least one here. Hurkacz has made two quarter-finals in the desert and is the superior player, so the big Pole should be able to come away with the W.

Hurkacz vs Kovacevic Stats & Trends

Hurkacz is a strong 11-6 at Indian Wells, only losing once to a player outside the top 50 (Monfils)
Hurkacz has won 26 of his last 28 matches vs players outside the top 70
Hurkacz has seen 1+ tiebreak in six of his last seven matches
Kovacevic is 0-4 lifetime at Indian Wells
Kovacevic has seen 1+ tiebreak in 12 of his last 14 matches
This will be a match between the World No. 71 (Hurkacz) and World No. 72 (Kovacevic)

Hurkacz vs Kovacevic Head To Head

This will be the first career meeting between the pair.

Hubert Hurkacz Form Analysis

2026 Record: 5-5
ATP Indian Wells Record: 11-6
Current Ranking: No. 71
Career-High Ranking: No. 6 (2024)

Hurkacz underwent knee surgery midway through last year and remains on the comeback trail and searching for his consistent best tennis.

The former World No. 6 exploded out of the blocks for Poland in the United Cup to start the year, recording singles victories over Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Tallon Griekspoor, and Stan Wawrinka.

However, after a second round defeat to Ethan Quinn at the Australian Open, Hurkacz has lost his last four matches.

Hurkacz was last seen competing in Dubai last month, where he suffered a 6-4 7-6 defeat to Jakub Mensik in the opening round.

The 29-year-old hasn't really suffered a bad loss in Indian Wells in his six previous appearances, going down to Roger Federer, Grigor Dimitrov, Andrey Rublev, Tommy Paul, Gael Monfils and Alex de Minaur.

Aleksandar Kovacevic Form Analysis

2026 Record: 6-7
ATP Indian Wells Record: 0-3
Current Ranking: No. 72
Career-High Ranking: No. 54 (Jan 2026)

Kovacevic is one of those players that I feel should have at the very least of cracked the top 50, but he's extremely inconsistent and always tends to find himself on the wrong end of close matches.

The American has played at least one tiebreak in 12 of his last 14 matches this season - he's always in the mix, but his mental game isn't the strongest.

After making the Brisbane semi-finals to launch the year, Kovacevic has gone 4-8 in his last 12 matches, including a second round defeat to Frances Tiafoe in Acapulco a couple of weeks ago.

Kovacevic has struggled in the desert, going 0-4 in his career - including qualifying - and losing to Matteo Arnaldi in three sets last year.

Hurkacz vs Kovacevic Live Stream

Watch and bet on Hubert Hurkacz vs Aleksandar Kovacevic live tennis from Indian Wells.

You can watch and bet on the match live at Unibet > Tennis > ATP Indian Wells with the action available to stream on desktop and mobile.

Geo-restrictions apply, you'll need a funded account or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours to gain access. 18+ terms and conditions apply.

Verdict

Hubert Hurkacz v Aleksandar Kovacevic

Hurkacz is tipped to come out on top in a match that features at least one tiebreak.

Over 0.5

Total Tiebreaks

$1.58 - 2 Units

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Hurkacz & Over 21.5

H2H/Total Games

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