The main draw of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells gets underway on Saturday, with the qualifiers in progress at the moment. There are quite a few absentees this time around, with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic denied a visa by the United States Government. Moreover, both the finalists from last year, Taylor Fritz and Rafael Nadal, are not playing either owing to injuries.
Hence, the field is somewhat weaker, but still has enough quality left in it to keep the spectators engrossed. In this piece, we are going to take a look at three players most likely to win the Masters 1000 tournament:
#1. Daniil Medvedev:
The 27-year-old Russian is the in-form player at the moment, having won three titles this year already. The way he dismantled Andrey Rublev in the Dubai final is testimony to his terrific form. Medvedev has been moving really well on the court and was virtually impregnable with his defence in the last few tournaments.
The big Russian will be very difficult to hit through on the slow hard court of Indian Wells, as he remains the only player to have defeated Djokovic this year. He has been drawn in the bottom half and might face Alexander Zverev of Germany in the Round of 16. However, with the Russian moving superbly and his forehand also firing, the big German might find it very difficult to upstage the former.
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#2. Carlos Alcaraz:
The 19-year-old Spaniard is going to be the top seed in the tournament and has made it to two successive finals on clay in South America. However, his loss to Cameron Norrie in the final of Rio must have stung him badly.
Alcaraz also has had some injury issues of late and it will be a challenge to him to remain fit throughout the tournament. In addition to that, his serve is also not a very powerful weapon yet and there are going to be very few cheap points for him.
Still, Alcaraz’s ability to hit well off both wings and his subtle drop shots should keep him in the reckoning. The young Spaniard is also a big-match player and will have to contend with the threat posed by Holger Rune, among others, in his side of the draw.
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#3. Stefanos Tsitsipas:
The 24-year-old Tsitsipas should be much relieved to know that his nemesis Djokovic is not playing in Indian Wells. However, he has been drawn in the half featuring Medvedev and Zverev, and will have his task cut out if he is to go deep in the tournament.
Tsitsipas’ forehand and first serve are quite formidable, but his shortcomings on the backhand side are usually exposed by his opponents quite frequently. Still, the Greek looked in good touch in Australian Open till he faced Djokovic and there is no reason why he cannot win his first title in Indian Wells this month.
Moreover, the slow conditions at the BNP Paribas Open will also suit him, as the Greek is usually most comfortable playing on clay. He will, however, have to become stronger mentally during big matches to win his first Masters 1000 title on a hard court.
Main Photo Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
