INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Carlos Alcaraz could run into Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals in his quest for a rare Indian Wells three-peat, while defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also faces a tough test.
Djokovic beat Alcaraz to reach the Australian Open semifinals in January and is hoping he can become only the third man to claim 100 career singles titles when the main draw of the tournament kicks off Wednesday in the California desert.
Djokovic, who received a first-round bye, will hope to have put recent injury concerns behind him as he kicks off his campaign at the Masters 1000 event against either a qualifier or Australia’s Nick Kyrgios.
The men’s draw could also see No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany face off against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals.
American Taylor Fritz, the 2022 champion and local favorite, could run into Russian Andrey Rublev in the final eight.
On the women’s side, No. 2 seed Swiatek is on a quarterfinal collision course with China’s Qinwen Zheng months after the No. 7 seed knocked her out in the semifinal stage of the Olympic women’s singles tournament.
Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka will look to bounce back after a pair of early exits from Doha and Dubai last month, with Italy’s Jasmine Paolini potentially standing between her and the semifinals.
A tantalizing all-American quarterfinal clash could be in the cards after 2023 US Open winner Coco Gauff and newly minted Australian Open champion Madison Keys were pulled into the same half of the draw.
Each hopes to end a 24-year title drought for American women at Indian Wells since Serena Williams last won the event.
Reuters contributed to this report.
