By Tony Fairbairn
- Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz handed tricky draw as the Spaniard looks to overturn a poor run of form
- Top Seeds: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev
- British Interest: Cameron Norrie [28], Dan Evans, Andy Murray, Jack Draper
INDIAN WELLS, USA – Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is looking to find his form in California against a stacked line-up in the first Masters 1000 of the season in Indian Wells.
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[1] Novak Djokovic
Best Result: Champion (2008, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016)
Djokovic returns to Indian Wells for the first time in five years as he looks to bounce back from a semi-final defeat at the Australian Open.
Djokovic’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: BYE | H2H: N/A
- R2: Aleksandar Vukic | H2H: First Meeting
- R3: Tomas Martin Etcheverry [30] | H2H: Djokovic leads 3-0
- R4: Ugo Humbert [14] | H2H: Djokovic leads 1-0
- QF: Hubert Hurkacz [8] | H2H: Djokovic leads 7-0
- SF: Daniil Medvedev [4] | H2H: Djokovic leads 10-5
- F: Carlos Alcaraz [2] | H2H: Djokovic leads 3-2
The world number one has a fairly comfortable opening few rounds although a last 16 tie against in-form Ugo Humbert could prove tricky with the Frenchman recently winning Dubai. One of Hubert Hurkacz or Casper Ruud will provide a stern test in the quarter-finals before facing last year’s finalist Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals. It’s an ideal draw for Djokovic to play his way back into form and should Djokovic cruise through the opening few rounds then the Serb will be favourite heading into a potential final against Jannik Sinner.
[2] Carlos Alcaraz
Best Result: Champion (2023)
Defending champion Alcaraz has not won a trophy since winning Wimbledon last year but there is no better time for the Spaniard to turn his form around as he looks to defend his Indian Wells crown.
Alcaraz’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: BYE | H2H: N/A
- R2: Matteo Arnaldi | H2H: Alcaraz leads 1-0
- R3: Felix Auger-Aliassime [31] | H2H: Auger-Aliassime leads 3-1
- R4: Karen Khachanov [15] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 3-0
- QF: Alexander Zverev [6] | H2H: Zverev leads 5-3
- SF: Jannik Sinner [3] | H2H: Sinner leads 4-3
- F: Novak Djokovic [1] | H2H: Djokovic leads 3-2
Alcaraz has a nightmare draw with in-form Matteo Arnaldi providing an early test before facing Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round, who has a favourable head-to-head record against Alcaraz. The world number two will fancy his chances against Karen Khachanov in the last 16 but a tough quarter-final against Alexander Zverev will be the ultimate test of his title. If Alcaraz can gain revenge over Zverev from the Australian Open then he will be feeling confident heading into the rest of the tournament but overall it will be a tough task for Alcaraz to break his trophyless run.
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[3] Jannik Sinner
Best Results: Semi-Final (2023)
Sinner is the player to beat at the moment with the Italian backing up his Australian Open title with a title in Rotterdam and now the new world number three looks for a second Masters 1000 title.
Sinner’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: BYE | H2H: N/A
- R2: Marcos Giron | H2H: Sinner leads 1-0
- R3: Jan-Lennard Struff [25] | H2H: First Meeting
- R4: Ben Shelton [16] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
- QF: Andrey Rublev [5] | H2H: Sinner leads 5-2
- SF: Carlos Alcaraz [2] | H2H: Sinner leads 4-3
- F: Novak Djokovic [1] | H2H: Djokovic leads 4-3
Sinner will receive a couple of early tests against Thanasi Kokkinakis and Jan-Lennard Struff before facing either Ben Shelton or in-form rising star Jakub Mensik in the last 16. The Italian could face Andrey Rublev or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals, a match-up that Sinner has had recent success in. Overall Sinner has a fairly comfortable draw and will be firm favourite to go all the way given he has had the better of Alcaraz and Djokovic in recent meetings.
[4] Daniil Medvedev
Best Result: Final (2023)
After losing in the Dubai semi-finals, Medvedev will look to reclaim his status as a hard court specialist in Indian Wells as he looks to go one round better than last year.
Medvedev’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: BYE | H2H: N/A
- R2: Fabio Cobolli | H2H: First Meeting
- R3: Sebastian Korda [29] | H2H: Korda leads 2-1
- R4: Grigor Dimitrov [13] | H2H: Medvedev leads 6-3
- QF: Holger Rune [7] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
- SF: Novak Djokovic [1] | H2H: Djokovic leads 10-5
- F: Carlos Alcaraz [2] | H2H: Alcaraz leads 3-2
The biggest obstacle for Medvedev ahead of the semi-finals will be a potential third round clash against Sebastian Korda. If Medvedev can figure out a way past the athletic American then Grigor Dimitrov or Adrian Mannarino stand in the way of a potential quarter-final with former champion Taylor Fritz. Ultimately Medvedev will be keen to prove that he is the best in the world on hard courts and it wouldn’t be surprising if he played his best tennis when he is under the radar just like he did at the Australian Open.
Indian Wells starts on Wednesday 6th of March and concludes on Sunday 17th of March.
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