Daniil Medvedev – the winner of the most this season with 19 matches, including a series of 14 consecutive matches, is considered one of the brightest candidates for the Indian Wells championship, the first Masters 1000 event of the year taking place since September 1. 8-19/3.
In the opening match from the second round, the fifth seed will meet the 2012 runner-up John Isner or Brandon Nakashima – the defending champion of Next Gen ATP Finals.
Medvedev, who beat Andrey Rublev in the final of the ATP 500 in Dubai to complete the treble for three straight weeks, could face Alexander Zverev in the fourth round. The German tennis player has just returned from injury and also played in the semi-final in Dubai last week.
Sharing the semi-finals with the Russian tennis player is Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is having a chance to become the world number one for the first time after two Masters tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami.
The Greek player needs to win one event and reach the final of the other. 135 is the number of points Tsitsipas needs to defend from his performance in the third round of Indian Wells and the fourth round of Miami last season.
The second seed meets Gael Monfils or Jordan Thompson in the second round, before being able to face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie in the quarterfinals.
Carlos Alcaraz, who played in last season’s semi-final, will return to the top of the ATP scoreboard if he wins this year’s Indian Wells, where he is seeded number one. Alcaraz missed the ATP 500 Acapulco event last week due to an unresolved leg injury.
Before he can face Medvedev or Tsitsipas in the final, the 19-year-old needs to overcome “obstacles”, including last year’s champion Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals.
The goal of defending 1,000 points will put a lot of pressure on Fritz so that he can stay in the top 5 in the world at the end of the tournament. The two biggest challenges the 25-year-old could face will be Holger Rune and Alex de Minaur, the clay champion in Acapulco last week.
