Indian Wells Draw: Rublev, Zverev, Berrettini Press Turin Claims
World No. 5 Andrey Rublev may get an early shot to avenge last week's loss to Cameron Norrie following the release of the BNP Paribas Open draw Tuesday.
The Russian could meet the lefty in the fourth round as the Indian Wells Tennis Garden looks to host its award-winning ATP Masters 1000 for the first time since March 2019 due to the pandemic. Fourth-seeded Rublev, who fell to Norrie last week at the San Diego Open, will be looking to shore up his place at the Nitto ATP Finals with a deep run in the desert, as will the likes of Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini.
Andy x Andrey ????#BNPPO21 @andy_murray @AndreyRublev97 pic.twitter.com/NwVqmQ9p0e
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) October 5, 2021
Rublev will open against the winner of Spaniards Carlos Taberner and Jaume Munar and is seeded to meet Serb Dusan Lajovic in the third round.
Zverev, who seeks a third Masters 1000 title of the season, has a challenging draw that potentially pits him against two of the brightest young starts in the game. The Olympic gold medallist will open against a qualifier or 20-year-old Jenson Brooksby, who took a set from World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in his most recent match in the fourth round of the US Open. In the third round, the German is seeded to meet 18-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, himself a recent quarter-finalist at Flushing Meadows.
But Alcaraz, who as the 30th seed has a first-round bye, first must navigate a tough opener against former World No. 1 Andy Murray or wily French lefty Adrian Mannarino.
Sixth seed Matteo Berrettini, who is sixth in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, more than 1000 points clear of his next Turin challenger Casper Ruud, begins his campaign against American Denis Kudla or a qualifier. He could meet 31st seed Taylor Fritz in the third round and countryman Jannik Sinner, himself chasing a Turin berth, or John Isner in the fourth round.
Warming up to day ✌️ at the #TennisParadise player field ☀️ pic.twitter.com/R9uU5K3tck
— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) October 5, 2021
Top seed Daniil Medvedev, who can pull within 1000 points of Djokovic in the Race should he win his second Masters 1000 of the season, will open against the winner of Mackenzie McDonald and James Duckworth. He is seeded to meet Serb Filip Krajinovic in the third round and either Reilly Opelka or Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.
Men's main draw action begins Thursday, one day after the women's main draw commences.
Read: Clijsters returns, Raducanu debuts as Indian Wells draw is revealed
Did You Know?
Players voted The BNP Paribas Open as the best Masters 1000 tournament for six consecutive years between 2014-2019. The award was not given in 2020 due to the pandemic.