BNP Paribas Open
Everyone loves Indian Wells and it’s the first Masters event of the season. All the big guns are here while the US fields plenty of up and coming players too. Nadal sits atop the draw with little to worry about despite news of a ‘tricky draw’. Two players that could face each other and then Nadal are Janowicz and Raonic. They have big enough games to cause Rafa a bit of trouble and of course Murray who is in his section.
Federer does have a good draw provided he keeps up his form from Dubai. No real issues until he potentially meets countryman and Aussie Open champ Wawrinka.
Djokovic certainly has pound-for-pound the tougher section with in-form players including Berdych, Cilic, Tsonga, Gulbis and Dimitrov.
All 5 wildcards have been offered to US players: Jack Sock, Ryan Harrison, Rhyne Williams, Rajeev Ram and Steve Johnson. You can read more about these players here.
BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, CA
Let’s break it down:
ATP Level: 1000
Surface: Outdoor Hard
Defending Champion: Rafael Nadal – The 3 time champion enters with a 16-1 record and 2 titles this season.
Nasty Floater: Lleyton Hewitt – 2 matches away from 600 career wins; he’ll be fired up.
Up and Coming: Federico Delbonis – The 23 year old left hander from Argentina won his first title in Brazil last week (on clay).
Slumping: Andy Murray – Enters with a 12-4 record; not shabby but not the start to the season he’s expected.
On Fire: Roger Federer – The 4 time champion with a 42-9 event record is on a roll after winning in Dubai last week.
My pick: Novak Djokovic – No titles so far this season, but with a 30-6 tournament record here, he can get things back on track.
Did You Know? The last player to do the Indian Wells-Miami double was Novak Djokovic and the last player to do it twice was Roger Federer.
Player Records:
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