If the absence of Jannik Sinner, number one in the world and currently the tennis player in the shape of the planet, was good news for the aspirations of Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wellsthe draw of the picture leveled things by placing Novak Djokovic on the path of Spanish towards his third consecutive title in the tournament, a feat only achieved by Roger Federer and the tennis player himself.
The Californian Tournament (March 5-16) opens the 1000 Masters calendar of the year and is the first major event that will be lost without the controversial sanction that agreed with the World Anti-Doping Agency (AMA) after its positive in Clostebol, a prohibited anabolic that was detected precisely during the last edition of Indian Wells.
The winner of the last open of Australia, finally suspended until May 4, will not be able to fight for his first title in the Coachella Valley or revalidate his victory in the subsequent 1000 Masters of Miami (March 19-30), both on a hard track, an area in which he is currently almost unbeatable.
Australia rematch
The decline of Sinner opens the way for Alcaraz and his aspirations of a consecutive tricampeonato, something that his idol Rafael Nadal could never reach. The Spanish landed in California with irregular results at this start of the course, raising the Rotterdam trophy (ATP 500) but falling in the quarterfinals of Australia against Djokovic.
The rematch before the Balkan could occur in an early and explosive crossing of the quarterfinals in Indian Wells, according to the tournament raffle. Before, Alcaraz will debut before the Frenchman Quentin Halys (number 59 of ATP) or a tennis player from the classification phase, while Djokovic could start his participation in front of the always controversial Nick Kyrgios.
On paper, the greatest threats to the Murcia could be the Russian Daniil Medvedev, his victim in the two final passes, and the German Alexander Zverev, runner -up of the Australian Open, but no one dares to rule out a last blow of the veteran Djokovic at 37 years.
Insatiable records of records, the Serbian has among its goals to achieve a sixth crown of Indian Wells that would raise it to the top of the palmarés ahead of Roger Federer.
‘Nole’, winner of 24 Grand Slam titles, also wants to remove the thorn of his unexpected elimination last year in third round against the Italian Luca Nardi, then World Cup number 123.
Next to the favorites, the new surface of the track, Laykold, used in faster track events such as Miami or the United States Open and that could affect the play of tennis players such as Alcaraz himself, will also attract the spotlights. And also the Brazilian Joao Fonseca, the new sensation of male tennis.
The 18 -year -old Carioca received one of the invitations of the tournament after in February he became one of the youngest champions in history with his triumph in the open 250 of Buenos Aires.
Swiatek defends title in the female category
In the female category IGA Swiatek will seek the first successful defense of the title since the one achieved by Martina Navratilova in 1991. La Polaca, champion in 2024 and 2022, has not had the beginning of the expected year, without any trophy to celebrate and derail in semifinals of Australia, so he has not managed to cut ground to the number one of the world in the world Aryna Sabalenka Indian Wells trophy to your growing showcase.
The local jewel, Coco Gauff, also aspires to her first victory, while the Spanish Paula Badosa to consolidate her return to the elite in her fetish tournament, where she triumphed in 2021. And if the male tennis is excited with the appearance of Fonseca, the female also has a new prodigy, the Russian Mirra Andreeva, the youngest champion of a youth at 17.
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