The first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the season, the BNP Paribas Open, will be played from March 12 to March 22 in Indian Wells.
World no.1 Novak Djokovic is a defending champion. The 2008, 2011 and 2014 titlist is a top seed and has a first-round BYE. He will face world no.61 Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) in the second round. Baghdatis beat Jiri Vesely (CZE) 6-3, 1-1 (Vesely retired).
It will be their eighth career meeting, Nole leads their H2H 7-0.
Novak’s potential opponents in the later stages of the tournament are:
3rd round: Julien Benneteau (FRA, 25), Viktor Troicki (SRB)
4th round: Kevin Anderson (RSA, 16), John Isner (USA, 18)
Quarter-finals: David Ferrer (ESP, 8), Marin Cilic (CRO, 10)
Semi-finals: Andy Murray (GBR, 4), Kei Nishikori (JPN, 5)
Roger Federer (SUI, 2), Rafael Nadal (ESP, 3), Milos Raonic (CAN, 6), Stan Wawrinka (SUI, 7), Tomas Berdych (CZE, 9), Grigor Dimitrov (BUL, 11)… are in the bottom half of the draw.
Last year, Novak captured the BNP Paribas Open title for the third time coming back from a set down to beat Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.
“I have confidence and wind in my back after winning a grand slam at the beginning of the season,” Djokovic said. “I hope I can take it from there and do well in the two big tournaments we have this month. I’m feeling good on the court. Indian Wells is one of the biggest events we have in our sport, after grand slams, and players are feeling comfortable. New facilities, courts, new stadium last year, court 2… it really feels like a grand slam, and that encourages players to play their best.”
This will be Novak’s tenth appearance at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden (36-6 record). He comes into the event with a 14-2 match record in 2015.
The 27-year-old Belgrade native has won 20 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophies. He is bidding to capture his 50th career crown and second title of the season.
Photo: Getty Images
