Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic met in a blockbuster quarter-final at the Australian Open, won by Djokovic in four sets. The superstars could meet in the last eight again at the BNP Paribas Open.
When the Indian Wells draw was made on Monday, the big news was that two-time defending champion Alcaraz could play five-time tournament winner Djokovic in the quarter-finals. But both men will have to be ready to roll early in the event with tricky draws.
Djokovic could take on Nick Kyrgios in the second round. The Australian, who played Djokovic in the 2022 Wimbledon final, will open against a qualifier.
Alcaraz will begin his title defence against Frenchman Quentin Halys or a qualifier. The Spaniard has never played Halys. The first seeded opponent the 21-year-old could battle is in-form 27th seed Denis Shapovalov, who claimed his maiden ATP 500 crown in Dallas.
If the Alcaraz-Djokovic blockbuster comes to fruition, it would be their ninth Lexus ATP Head2Head showdown. Djokovic leads their series 5-3.
Top seed Alexander Zverev is pursuing his first Indian Wells trophy. He will be keen to get on track at the season’s first ATP Masters 1000 event, having won four of his past seven matches.
The German will face Tallon Griekspoor or Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round. Big-serving 29th seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is a potential third-round opponent for Zverev.
Third seed Taylor Fritz has fond memories in the desert, having won the title in 2022. The third seed will try to add to his Indian Wells resumé, beginning with his second-round clash against Argentine Sebastian Baez or a qualifier.
Fritz owns a 20-7 record at the BNP Paribas Open according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The American has not fallen short of the Round of 16 since 2019.
A first-round match to watch pits wild card Joao Fonseca against Briton Jacob Fearnley. Fonseca has been the talk of the tennis world, having won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF in December, upsetting Andrey Rublev at the Australian Open and earning his first tour-level title last month in Buenos Aires.
Outside the Top 500 in the PIF ATP Rankings this time last year and still in college, Fearnley is now World No. 81 and making his tournament debut. The winner between Fonseca and Fearnley will play 13th seed Jack Draper.
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