INDIAN WELLS TENNIS 2016 RICKY DIMON LOOKS AT MEN’S DRAW, NOVAK DJOKOVIC AND RAFA NADAL ON SAME SIDE

Written by: Staff on 8th March 2016

INDIAN WELLS TENNIS 2016 RICKY DIMON LOOKS AT MEN'S DRAW, NOVAK DJOKOVIC AND RAFA NADAL ON SAME SIDE |

2016 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Photo by Alejandro Gonzalez.

The 2016 BNP Paribas Open men’s singles draw ceremony was held on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks to Roger Federer’s withdrawal because of a knee injury, Rafael Nadal bagged a top-four seed to avoid any chance of facing Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. Nadal would, however, meet Djokovic in the semis if both players advance that far.

Also in the top half of the bracket are Kei Nishikori, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, recent United States Davis Cup hero John Isner, and an in-form Dominic Thiem. Nadal and Nishikori are in the same quarter along with Isner, while Djokovic could go up against Tsonga with a spot in the semifinals on the line. Tsonga may first have to get through Sam Querrey in the third round and Thiem in the fourth.

The other side of the draw is home to Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych, Richard Gasquet, and Juan Martin Del Potro. Fresh off a Davis Cup feud in Australia, countrymen Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic are on course for what would be a highly-anticipated quarterfinal battle. But Kyrgios would likely have to upend Murray in the fourth round and Tomic possibly has Milos Raonic and either Berdych or Del Potro in his path.

A big opportunity could be in the works for Del Potro, who will open with a qualifier prior to a potential contest against Berdych in the second round. Berdych suffered an adductor injury in Davis Cup action between the Czech Republic and Germany last weekend and retired from Sunday’s match against Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Murray’s section is the proverbial wild card of this tournament. Berdych (hamstring), Raonic (adductor), and Kyrgios (back, illness) are all question marks due to physical problems. If all of them are healthy, though, the result would be an extremely difficult portion of the draw.

At the top of the bracket, Djokovic should enjoy smooth sailing into at least the semifinals. But that is by no means a certainty. The world No. 1 retired from a Dubai quarterfinal match against Feliciano Lopez because of an eye infection and he was pushed to five sets by Mikhail Kukushkin in Davis Cup competition last weekend. Djokovic’s quarter hosts all kinds of red-hot players. Thiem and Roberto Bautista Agut have each captured two titles this season, Sam Querrey triumphed in Delray Beach, and Kohlschreiber is also heating up nicely.

Among the intriguing first-round matchups in Indian Wells are Taylor Fritz vs. Frances Tiafoe, Alexander Zverev vs. Ivan Dodig, Andreas Seppi vs. Donald Young, Borna Coric vs. Lucas Pouille, Vasek Pospisil vs. Jared Donaldson, and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez vs. Ernests Gulbis.