Djokovic, Nadal, Thiem To Lead Charge In Indian Wells; When Is The Draw & More

Posted: Mar 06, 2020

Djokovic, Nadal, Thiem To Lead Charge In Indian Wells; When Is The Draw & More

Mar062020

Draw, schedule, tickets & more about the 2020 BNP Paribas Open

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and defending champion Dominic Thiem are set to be the top three seeds when the BNP Paribas Open gets underway next week in Indian Wells. The draw for the first ATP Masters 1000 of the 2019 season will be made Tuesday afternoon at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, and main draw action will begin Thursday.

Djokovic is attempting to win this tournament for a record sixth time. Though he made an early exit last year, falling to Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round, the World No. 1 returns to the Coachella Valley in top form. The Serbian has a perfect 18-0 season record, following triumphs at the inaugural ATP Cup, the Australian Open and last week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

BNP Paribas Open Announces Coronavirus Countermeasures

Nadal, a three-time BNP Paribas Open champion, also enters Indian Wells on a winning streak after recently claiming the ATP 500 title at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC. The World No. 2 owns a record 35 Masters 1000 titles, one more than Djokovic, in addition to a record 384 match wins at the Masters 1000 level.

Thiem, who reached a career-high No. 3 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday, clinched his first ATP Masters 1000 title here last year as he battled back to defeat five-time champion Roger Federer 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. Thiem was one of three first-time Masters 1000 winners in 2019, along with Fabio Fognini (Monte-Carlo) and Daniil Medvedev (Cincinnati, Shanghai).

The 2020 field will feature 19 of the Top 20 players, including Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Matteo Berrettini, Gael Monfils and #NextGenATP Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime. Monfils, World No. 14 Andrey Rublev and No. 18 Cristian Garin have all won two ATP titles this season.

Here’s all you need to know about the Indian Wells tennis tournament: what is the schedule, where to watch, who has won and more.

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A Look Back At The 2019 BNP Paribas Open

Established: 1976

Tournament Dates: 12-22 March 2020

Tournament Director: Tommy Haas

Draw Ceremony: Tuesday, 10 March 2020 at 1pm PT at Stadium Plaza

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Schedule (View On Official Website)
* Qualifying: 10-11 March at 11am
* Main draw: Thursday, 12 March – Friday, 20 March at 11:00am and 6:00pm on all courts (Doubles main draw starts Friday, 13 March)
* Singles semi-finals: Saturday, 21 March at 11:00am and 1:00pm
* Doubles final: Saturday, 21 March, not before 5:00pm
* Singles final: Sunday, 22 March, not before 3:30pm

How To Watch
Watch Live On Tennis TV
TV Schedule

Venue: Indian Wells Tennis Garden
Main Court Seating: 16,100

Prize Money: USD $8,761,725 (Total Financial Commitment: USD $9,735,685)

Tickets On Sale: Buy Now

Get tickets for the 2020 <a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/indian-wells/404/overview'>BNP Paribas Open</a>, an ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California

View Who Is Playing, Past Champions, Seeds, Points & Prize Money Breakdown

Honour Roll (Open Era)
Most Titles, Singles: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer (5)
Most Titles, Doubles: Guy Forget (5)
Oldest Champion: Roger Federer, 35, in 2017
Youngest Champion: Boris Becker, 19, in 1987
Highest-Ranked Champion: No. 1 Jimmy Connors in 1976, Jim Courier in 1993, Pete Sampras in 1994-95, Lleyton Hewitt in 2002-03, Roger Federer in 2004-06, Rafael Nadal in 2009 and Novak Djokovic in 2015-16
Lowest-Ranked Champion (since 1982): No. 143 Larry Stefanki in 1985
Most Match Wins: Roger Federer (66)

Hot Shots From 2019 BNP Paribas Open

2019 Finals
Singles: [7] Dominic Thiem (AUT) d [4] Roger Federer (SUI) 36 63 75 Read & Watch
Doubles: Nikola Mektic (CRO) / Horacio Zeballos (ARG) d [6] Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) 46 64 10-3 Read More

Social
Hashtag: #BNPPO20 #TennisParadise

Facebook: @BNPPARIBASOPEN
Twitter: @BNPPARIBASOPEN
Instagram: @bnpparibasopen

Did You Know… The BNP Paribas Open has been voted by players as the best ATP Masters 1000 tournament for a record-breaking sixth time in the 2019 ATP Awards. Stadium 1 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden is the second largest in the world, with more than 16,000 seats and 44 suites. In 2014, the tournament debuted a brand new, permanent 8,000-seat Stadium 2, which offers spectators a chance to dine at Nobu while watching the action on court. The BNP Paribas Open is the only tournament to feature Hawk-Eye on all match courts for both main draw and qualifying matches.

Indian Wells 2019

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Ball boys & girls ordered to wear gloves at Indian Wells

Posted: Mar 06, 2020

Ball boys and girls will wear gloves, and will not be required to touch players’ towels, at Indian Wells because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Player and fan interaction will be limited and 250 hand sanitising stations have also been installed.

Spectators who have already bought tickets, but are now be having second thoughts, can request a refund.

Qualifying for the prestigious ATP and WTA tournament begins on Monday in California.

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The state recently declared a state of emergency after a 71-year-old man died from the virus.

In the UK, sports governing bodies and broadcasters have been called to a government meeting on Monday to discuss the staging of events behind closed doors if the outbreak worsens and mass gatherings are banned.

One person has died in Britain from the virus so far and more than 160 people have tested positive.

Italy has ordered all major sporting events throughout the country to be played without fans for one month in a bid to curb Europe’s worst coronavirus outbreak, while the upcoming Italy v England Six Nations match in Rome has been postponed.

The Premier League and EFL said pre-match handshakes between both teams and officials will not take place until further notice because of fears over the spread of coronavirus.

Premier League & EFL ditch pre-match fair-play handshakes
Government tells Premier League to ‘step up’ coronavirus planning
Coronavirus sport timeline

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'I was pretty low' – Watson thought about quitting during title drought

Posted: Mar 06, 2020

Britain’s Heather Watson says she thought about quitting tennis before ending her four-year title drought.

Watson had been outside the world’s top 100 at the start of 2020 but is now ranked 49th after beating Leylah Fernandez to win the Mexican Open.

It was the 27-year-old’s first WTA title since the Monterrey Open in 2016.

Watson said: “I thought I wasn’t doing good enough, nor getting the satisfaction or results, so why continue to suffer through it?”

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live’s The Inside Track, the British number two added: “I was pretty low. I was thinking of stopping tennis. You have those thoughts and I wasn’t serious about it.”

Watson says the key to her success in Mexico was finding the right balance on and off the court.

“I am loving life right now,” she said.

“In the long run, I need to be happy off the court to be successful on the court.

“I felt like I had nothing to lose going into the tournament. On and off the court I felt good, I was in a really calm state of mind.

“I was going into the competition just enjoying it, being healthy – and as the tournament went on I thought: ‘Oh this is nice.’

“I’ve been loving [tennis] these past eight months. When I got to the final I did put a bit of pressure on myself. I have been so consistent; more consistent then I have been in my career.”

Watson is targeting a third Olympic appearance at the Tokyo Games this summer and also making the second week of a Grand Slam, having never previously gone beyond the third round.

“I have been very open that my number one goal is to be in the Olympics again,” said Watson, who reached a career-high 38th in the world rankings in January 2015.

“My goal every year is to win WTA titles. I have one now, so the goal is to get another one and I want to make it into at least the fourth round of a Grand Slam.”

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Johanna Konta into Monterrey Open quarter-finals

Posted: Mar 06, 2020

British number one Johanna Konta advanced to the quarter-finals of the Monterrey Open with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win over Germany’s Tatjana Maria.

World number 91 Maria had beaten Britain’s Heather Watson in three sets in the previous round.

But in her first meeting with the 32-year-old, second seed Konta sealed victory in one hour 47 minutes.

Konta, 28, will play Russian 18-year-old Anastasia Potapova in the last eight on Friday.

Meanwhile in the Challenger Series event in Indian Wells, Britain’s Katie Boulter lost 6-3 6-3 to Ukraine’s Lesia Tsurenko in the last 16.

The 23-year-old from Leicester, the world number 396, was beaten by the 30-year-old world number 127 in an hour and 11 minutes.

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