World no. 3 Carlos Alcaraz will seek his third consecutive Indian Wells title next week. The Spaniard will have to pass a couple of challenging obstacles if he wants to reach the fourth consecutive semi-final in the desert, including a potential quarter-final clash with Novak Djokovic!
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The two-time champion faces Quentin Halys or a qualifier in the second round. That should not be a problem for the four-time Major winner, but things could become tricky from the next round! Denis Shapovalov should be Alcaraz's rival in the last 32.
The Canadian has rediscovered his form in recent weeks. The former top-10 player claimed the ATP 500 title in Dallas and reached the semi-final in Acapulco.
The organizers changed the surface in Indian Wells, making it much closer to what we have in New York. Both Alcaraz and Shapovalov know how to play on it very well, and we should get a cracker if they meet in the third round.
Grigor Dimitrov, Jan-Lennard Struff, Gael Monfils and SebastianKorda are the favorites to reach the fourth round from their section. One of them will fight against the winner of the Alcaraz vs. Shapovalov clash.
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If the Spaniard passes three obstacles, we could see him battling against the 24-time Major winner, Novak Djokovic! Novak and Alex de Minaur are the favorites in their part of the draw, with Hubert Hurkacz and Nick Kyrgios hoping to spoil their party.
While facing Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev in Indian Wells, Carlos has yet to face Novak in the desert. The five-time champion will seek his first deep run at this event since lifting the most recent trophyin 2016.
Djokovic beat Alcaraz in their most recent match in Melbourne, but the Serb can not think about the Spaniard. The 37-year-oldwill likely face Nick Kyrgios in the second round. Hubert Hurkacz and Alex de Minaur will also try to end his campaign and spoil the legend's 100th ATP title.
If Novak and Carlos reach the quarter-final, we should get another cracker between the two great rivals who always bringfire and passion to their meetings.
