Having wowed tennis fans in Dubai over the past fortnight, the game’s stars, from both the ATP and WTA Tours, head for the ‘North American Swing’ and back-to-back events in Indian Wells and Miami.
Dubai champions Roger Federer and Agnieska Radwanska are among the stellar names on show at Indian Wells, the most lucrative tournament outside the Grand Slams with over $1million (Dhs3.65m) guaranteed for the singles champions, with play getting underway on Wednesday.
Ahead of the opening day’s play, Sport360°’s tennis guru Reem Abulleil picks out ‘Six of the Best’ to keep an eye an eye out for over the coming weeks.
MENS
Roger Federer
Andy Murray
He has no points to defend this March so for the Scot, any win this month will give him a boost of ranking points. His win over Novak Djokovic in the semifinals in Dubai last week and a decent performance against Roger Federer in the final added to the impressive show in Australia have restored many people’s faith in him and the 2009 Indian Wells runner-up is looking to keep it up.
Milos Raonic
The Canadian youngster has made two finals in the last two weeks, finishing runner-up in Memphis and taking the San Jose title. He also opened his season with a win in Chennai. Made his debut in the desert last year where he made the third round (beating Mardy Fish en route) so all eyes will be on the world No.27 to see if he can keep up his current run on the hard courts.
WOMENS
Victoria Azarenka
She is 17-0 this season and will be playing her first big tournament since she became No.1 in the world. Azarenka retired from her quarter-final against eventual champion Wozniacki last year. She’s drawn in the same group as Radwanska, whom she beat in the Doha semi-final before the Czech went on to win the title the next day. Radwanska’s not buying it. Grudge match, please!
Petra Kvitova
The world No.3 will be making her first appearance since the Fed Cup four weeks ago having been sidelined with injury. She boasts a strong 9-2 win-loss record on the season but withdrew from Doha with an Achilles injury and missed Dubai with an unspecified illness so there are many question marks about her health. Still she is only defending 85 points through Indian Wells and Miami.
Christina McHale
The 19-year-old is the only seeded American in the draw as she rose to a career-high ranking of 34 last week. She’s made the third round at her last two Grand Slam appearances in New York last September and in Melbourne earlier this year and she’s already beaten the likes of Lucia Safarova, Shahar Peer and Shuai Peng recently. She awaits either a qualifier or Elena Vesnina in the second round.
