Alcaraz faces tricky opening test in Indian Wells, with Djokovic looming
- Last updated: March 4, 2026 | 09:06 ..
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz will open the Indian Wells Open, season’s first ATP Masters 1000 event, against former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov or Terence Atmane, with five-time champion Novak Djokovic also looming in his half of the draw.
Alcaraz played Dimitrov in the California desert last year, losing just two games to the Bulgarian in the fourth round. But Dimitrov has shown comfort at Indian Wells, reaching the semi-finals in 2021 and the quarter-finals in 2022, according to ATP stats. Atmane will be making his main draw debut at Indian Wells after previously competing in qualifying. The Frenchman broke through last year in Cincinnati with a dream run to the semi-finals and is at a career-high No. 52 in the ATP Rankings
Djokovic, who is tied with Roger Federer for the most titles in tournament history (5), will play Kamil Majchrzak or Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his first match since the Australian Open final.
The Serbian suffered a stunning opening defeat here to Botic van de Zandschulp last year and will try to make a good start on his chase to a 102nd tour-level title.
Seventh seed Taylor Fritz, the 2022 Indian Wells champion, is also in Djokovic’s quarter of the draw. The top-ranked American opens against Damir Dzumhur or Jacob Fearnley.
Second seed Jannik Sinner is chasing his first title in the desert and is in the same quarter as eighth seed Ben Shelton, who brings momentum to California after winning the Dallas title.
The Italian opens his Indian Wells campaign against James Duckworth or a qualifier and could face Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Denis Shapovalov or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round. He will meet Shelton if both men reach the quarter-finals.
Sinner reached back-to-back Indian Wells semi-finals in 2023-24, losing to Carlos Alcaraz on both occasions.
The Indian Wells tournament begins on Wednesday, with seeded players receiving first-round byes and not scheduled to compete until later in the week.
Medvedev is seeded 11th at Indian Wells, while Rublev is seeded 17th for the Masters 1000 event in California.
Medvedev claimed the Dubai title via walkover on Saturday and is among the players affected by the travel delays, along with fellow Russian Andrey Rublev.
Agencies