Sascha Zverev dug deep to eliminate veteran Ivan Dodig 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday. The 18 year old German needed two hours and 18 minutes to see off the 31 year old Croat in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting, benefitting from an unusual, momentum-turning incident.

“I thought he twisted his ankle at the first, but then I saw him bleeding pretty close to the eye and I was like, wow, he probably hit himself with the racquet,” said Zverev, who was across the net when his opponent took a tumble, then hit himself in the face with his frame at 3-6, 1-1. “I don’t know what happened, to be quite honest. I didn’t see it, but he started bleeding quite heavily then.”

Dodig’s medical timeout allowed the young German to regroup. Zverev converted on two of nine break points in the second set to even the match, then won 11 of 12 first-serve points in the deciding set to secure victory. Next up for Zverev will be No. 23 seed Grigor Dimitrov, who holds a 1-0 lead in the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry (2014 Basel).

Vasek Pospisil was made to work hard before eliminating American wild card Jared Donaldson 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 6-3. The Canadian struck nine aces and needed almost three hours to close out the win. He will face Gilles Simon in the second round.

“I’m happy with the way I played and the way I fought,” said Pospisil, who represented Canada last week in a Davis Cup tie against France on a clay court in Guadeloupe. “The conditions were tough here. They’re polar opposite from what I played last week, so it’s a little bit of an adjustment, but he played a good match and he surprised me a little bit. He was playing well, and I had to play some great tennis to win today.”

Mikhail Kukushkin will play No. 5 seed Kei Nishikori in the second round after downing Daniel Munoz de la Nava 7-6(1), 6-2. The Kazakh will be looking for his first victory against the Japanese in six meetings.

Rafael Nadal will open against fellow left-hander Gilles Muller in the second round. The big-serving Muller defeated Victor Estrella-Burgos 7-5, 6-3, firing 16 aces in the process. Muller has shown flashes of brilliance in four previous tour-level meetings with Nadal, pushing three of their past six sets to a tie-break and beating a 19-year-old Nadal at Wimbledon in 2005.

Qualifier Bjorn Fratangelo earned his first ATP World Tour victory with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Teymuraz Gabashvili. The American did not face a break point in the 82-minute win. His next opponent will be top seed and two-time defending champion Novak Djokovic.

“I feel amazing. It’s a great feeling to get my first ATP win, and to do it in a 1000 event, to play Djokovic [next], it’s a pretty surreal feeling. I’m going to enjoy this as much as I can right now,” Fratangelo said.

John Isner and Milos Raonic, two of the most fearsome servers on the ATP World Tour, teamed up for the first time to take out Colin Fleming and Andy Murray 7-5, 6-7(5), 10-8 at the BNP Paribas Open on Friday. Isner/Raonic fired six aces in the one-hour, 43-minute win and saved all eight break points faced.

It was Raonic’s first doubles match of the season, while Isner won a match in Auckland (partnering Rosol) before withdrawing from the event.

Murray/Fleming did not miss a first serve in the Match Tie-break, but their towering opponents won three return points (3/9) to move on.

Philipp Kohlschreiber and Dominic Thiem defeated Frenchmen Richard Gasquet and Benoit Paire 6-3, 4-6, 10-4. The German/Austrian pairing were nearly unbeatable on their first delivery, winning 90 per cent of first serve points. Gasquet/Paire saved 12 of 13 break points, but succumbed in 70 minutes.

Roberto Bautista Agut and Victor Troicki downed Pablo Cuevas and Marcel Granollers 2-6, 6-3, 10-4 in 68 minutes. The Spanish/Serbian duo won 57 points to their opponents’ 55 and notched their first team win in three attempts.

To watch the BNP Paribas Open online, visit TennisTV.com.

The Californian desert has been a happy hunting ground for Novak Djokovic. The World No. 1 is a four-time champion in Indian Wells and is looking to make it three titles in a row at the year’s first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.

But how does he do it? For the Serb, it starts with preparation.

“All the tennis players are required to acclimatise as soon as possible because that’s part of what we do, and you can’t afford to waste too much of your time,” Djokovic said. “I heard about the theory of necessity for the body to get acclimated to a certain time zone, that you need as many days as the time difference in hours. So basically, if you’re going to Australia, a ten-hour difference in relation to Europe, then you need 10 days to really get your body used to it.

“But from my personal experience, you can do it much quicker. I believe in nutrition and hydration and the mental side of it. If you prepare yourself for going to that place, you set your clock, and you really devote yourself to that part of the world, then it seems easier.”

Djokovic has been in Indian Wells for nearly a week after helping Serbia advance to the Davis Cup quarter-finals, and he feels ready to defend his title.

“The conditions are pretty suitable to my style of play,” he noted. “I like to have a little bit more time to construct the point. I feel comfortable with the speed of the court and the surface. Especially in the afternoon and night matches, when it’s a bit slower.

“The ball bounces high. I grew up on clay. I grew up with a high bounce. I feel comfortable playing on these courts.”

The top player in the Emirates ATP Rankings has 61 tour-level titles and admits that playing in front of a large crowd on a big stage provides him with an additional jolt of energy.

“[The BNP Paribas Open is] setting a really high standard in attracting more fans and increasing the attendance each year,” Djokovic said. “The fans are truly great. You can see how much they love tennis. Every practice session is full. Every match that you play, they are there from the very beginning.

“[I look] forward to performing in such circumstances in front of people who really appreciate me being there.”

DAY 2 PREVIEW: The top half of the BNP Paribas Open draw on Friday features 16 first round singles matches, with a pair of teenagers on Stadium 1.

Leading off the day’s action is 18-year-old German teenager Alexander Zverev against Ivan Dodig of Croatia. This is a first-time meeting on the ATP World Tour although they met in the qualifying draw at last year’s US Open with Zverev winning in straight sets. In the first two months of the season Zverev has reached the semi-finals in Montpellier and quarter-finals in Rotterdam.

In the next match, 19-year-old wild card Jared Donaldson makes his BNP Paribas Open main draw debut against Vasek Pospisil, who is Canada’s No. 2 player. This is a first-time meeting. Donaldson is looking for his first main draw match win of the season (0-1 on ATP World Tour, 0-2 on ATP Challenger Tour). Pospisil won last year’s doubles title (w/Sock).

In the final match of the night session, Donald Young and Andreas Seppi square off for the fourth time. The Italian holds a 2-1 advantage, winning both grass court matches although Young won the last meeting in five sets in the 2R at the Australian Open in 2014. Both players have reached the 3R three times in Indian Wells, including last year.

Doubles action gets underway on Stadium 2 with the first-time pairing of John Isner and Milos Raonic taking on Colin Fleming and Andy Murray. On Stadium 5, wild card duo Mahesh Bhupathi and Stan Wawrinka meet Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey.

DAY 2 FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – In Order of Play by Court

Ivan Dodig (CRO) vs Alexander Zverev (GER) First ATP Meeting

Other meeting:
15 US Open Q (U.S.A.) Hard — Alexander Zverev 7-6(4) 7-5

Dodig 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 2-3
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: January 2, 1985
Emirates ATP Ranking: 79
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 3-4 (3R – 2013)

• The 31-year-old Croat is making his fifth straight appearance in Indian Wells and his best result is 3R in 2013 (d. Pella, Benneteau, l. to No. 2 Federer). Last year lost in 2R (d. Sousa,l. to No. 8 Ferrer 7-6 in 3rd)
• Qualified and reached 2R at Brisbane (l. to Raonic in 3 sets) and Rotterdam (l. to Kohlschreiber)
• In January, beat fellow Top 100 players Gimeno-Traver, Giraldo and Muñoz de la Nava en route to Canberra, AUS Challenger final (l. to Lorenzi)
• In doubles, World No. 7 is 5-4 on the season (3-2 with World No. 1 Melo)
• Helped Croatia to 3-2 win over Belgium in Davis Cup 1R, teaming w/Skugor to beat Bemelmans/Goffin

Zverev 2016 FastFacts:
SF: Montpellier (l Mathieu); QF: Rotterdam (l Monfils)
YTD W-L: 6-6 (6-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 20, 1997
Emirates ATP Ranking: 58
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): Main draw debut

• The 18-year-old German is making his main draw debut. Last year came in ranked No. 136 and lost in 1R qualifying to Michael Russell in three sets
• Last month reached 3rd ATP singles SF at Montpellier (d. Vanni in 1R after saving 1 MP, l. to Mathieu)
• Win over No. 13 Cilic in Montpellier 2R is biggest of career by ranking
• Achieved career-high No. 56 in Emirates ATP Rankings on February 15
• Advanced to Rotterdam QF (d. Simon 76 in 3rd, l. to Monfils)
• Fell to eventual finalist Murray in 1R of Australian Open debut
• Appeared in 2nd ATP doubles final with older brother Mischa at Montpellier (l. to Pavic/Venus)
• In Davis Cup debut, fell to No. 7 Berdych in 4h, 20m and Rosol in deciding rubber (CZE d. GER 3-2)

[WC] Jared Donaldson (USA) vs Vasek Pospisil (CAN) First Meeting

Donaldson 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 0-1 (0-1 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: October 9, 1996
Emirates ATP Ranking: 158
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): Main draw debut

• The 19-year-old American is making his main draw debut. Last year came in ranked No. 174 and lost in 1R qualifying to Aussie James Duckworth in third set tie-break
• Qualified at Memphis, losing to fellow Next Generation player Nishioka in 1R
• Fell in qualifying at Brisbane, Australian Open and Delray Beach
• Lost in 1R at Challengers in Maui, USA (l. to Bolt) and Dallas, USA (l. to Fratangelo)

Pospisil 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 2-7 (2-6 on hard, 0-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: June 23, 1990
Emirates ATP Ranking: 43
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-4 (2R – 2015)

• The 25-year-old Canadian is making his fifth straight Indian Wells appearance and last year won his first singles match (d. Kukushkin, l. to No. 4 Murray). Won doubles title (w/Sock)
• Started season 2-7 in singles with wins over Karlovic in Auckland and Pouille in Dubai
• Went 0-6 in sets during Canada’s 5-0 loss to France in Davis Cup 1R (l. to Simon, w/Bester l. to Gasquet/Tsonga)
• Fell to frequent doubles partner Sock in Auckland 2R (1st H2H meeting)
• Captured 6th ATP World Tour doubles title at Rotterdam w/Mahut (d. Peya/Petzschner)
• Advanced to Australian Open doubles QF w/Sock (d. Hewitt/Groth, l. to Cuevas/Granollers)

Donald Young (USA) vs Andreas Seppi (ITA) Seppi Leads 2-1
11 Eastbourne (Great Britain) Grass R16 Andreas Seppi 7-6(1) 6-3
12 London Olympics (Great Britain) Grass R64 Andreas Seppi 6-4 6-4
14 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R64 Donald Young 6-4 2-6 6-3 4-6 7-5

Young 2016 FastFacts:
QF: Memphis (l Berankis)
YTD W-L: 4-5 (4-5 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: July 23, 1989
Emirates ATP Ranking: 75
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 6-7 (3R – 2008, ‘11, ‘15)

• The 26-year-old American enters with a 6-7 career record in Indian Wells and his best result is 3R in 2008 (l. to No. 2 Nadal), ’11 (d. No. 5 Murray in 2R, l. to Robredo) and last year (l. to Nadal). Made debut in 2005 as a 15-year-old wild card and lost in 1R (l. to Clement)
• Won 1st match in 4 of 5 events to start 2016 season: Auckland, Memphis, Delray Beach and Acapulco
• Fell in 4 sets to Giraldo in Australian Open 1R
• Won Australian Open doubles 1R match w/Krajicek over Pavic/Venus, who have captured 3 titles in ‘16

Seppi 2016 FastFacts:
QF: Sofia (l Klizan)
YTD W-L: 5-6 (4-6 on hard, 1-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: February 21, 1984
Emirates ATP Ranking: 42
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 8-10 (3R – 2013-14-15)

• The 32-year-old Italian is making his 11th straight Indian Wells appearance and his best result is 3R the last three years (l. to Gulbis in ’13, Wawrinka in ’14 and Federer last year)
• Made 43rd consecutive appearance in a Grand Slam main draw at Australian Open where he advanced to 3R for 3rd time in career (l. to eventual champion Djokovic)
• Helped Italy to 5-0 sweep of Switzerland in Davis Cup 1R (d. Laaksonen, w/Bolelli d. Chiudinelli/Laaksonen)
• Captured 1st ATP World Tour doubles title in 7th final at Dubai w/Bolelli (d. Lopez/Lopez after saving 2 MPs)
• Also defeated Lopez/Lopez to reach Australian Open doubles 3R w/Cecchinato (l. to Rojer/Tecau)

STADIUM 2

Ernests Gulbis (LAT) vs Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) Gulbis Leads 2-1
08 St. Petersburg (Russia) Hard R32 Ernests Gulbis 6-0 6-2
10 Bangkok (Thailand) Hard QF Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-6(4) 4-6 6-3
13 St. Petersburg (Russia) Hard F Ernests Gulbis 3-6 6-4 6-0

Gulbis 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 2-4 (2-4 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: August 30, 1988
Emirates ATP Ranking: 71
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 11-8 (QF – 2014)

• The 27-year-old Latvian is making his ninth straight Indian Wells appearance and his best result is QFs two years ago (l. to Isner in two tie-breaks). Previous year, advanced to 4R (d. No. 9 Tipsarevic in 2R, d. No. 20 Seppi in 3R, l. to Nadal 7-5 in 3rd). Last year lost to Mannarino in 3R (after bye,d. Gimeno-Traver)
• Has a 2-4 record this season and all four losses have come to Frenchmen. Lost to Gasquet in 2R at Montpellier (d. Halys in 1R) and Marseille (d. De Schepper in 1R)
• Fell to Chardy 13-11 in 5th set of Australian Open 1R after 4 hours, 43 minutes
• Qualified at Rotterdam (l. to Monfils in 1R). Lost in qualifying at Brisbane and Sydney

Garcia-Lopez 2016 FastFacts:
QF(2): Chennai (l Wawrinka); Sofia (l Muller)
YTD W-L: 5-6 (5-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 5
Date of Birth: June 4, 1983
Emirates ATP Ranking: 38
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 8-7 (4R – 2010)

• The 32-year-old Spaniard is making his eighth appearance in 10 years (missed 2013-14) and his best result is 4R in 2010 (d. Lacko, No. 9 Cilic, Bellucci, l. to Monaco). In 2012, reached 3R (d. Machado, No. 4 Murray, l. to Harrison)
• Advanced to QFs at Chennai (l. to No. 4 Wawrinka) in opening week of season and Sofia (l. to Muller) last month
• Made 45th consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearance at Australian Open where he reached 3R for 4th time in career (l. to No. 7 Nishikori in 4 sets). His Grand Slam streak is tied with Djokovic for 5th-longest among active players on ATP World Tour

Denis Istomin (UZB) vs Denis Kudla (USA) First Meeting

Istomin 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 0-6 (0-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: September 7, 1986
Emirates ATP Ranking: 73
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 5-5 (4R – 2012)

• No. 1 player from Uzbekistan is making his sixth straight Indian Wells appearance. His best result is 4R in 2012 when he beat Lu, Chela and No. 5 Ferrer (l. to No. 9 del Potro in three sets). Last year beat Krajicek in 1R (l. to No. 16 Bautista Agut in 2R)
• Started season 0-6 with 1R losses at Brisbane, Sydney, Australian Open, Montpellier, Rotterdam and Dubai. Won only 2 sets, falling in 3 sets to Seppi at Sydney and 4 sets to Tomic at Australian Open
• Also 0-3 in doubles this season with 1R losses at Sydney, Australian Open and Montpellier

Kudla 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 3-5 (3-5 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: August 17, 1992
Emirates ATP Ranking: 66
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 1-2 (2R – 2012)

• The 23-year-old American is making his third main draw appearance and reached 2R in 2012 (d. Kamke, l. to. No. 3 Federer). Last year came in ranked No. 131 and lost in 1R (l. to Kyrgios)
• Advanced to 2R at Brisbane (l. to Thiem), Australian Open (l. to Seppi) and Memphis (l. to Kukushkin)
• Achieved career-high No. 59 in Emirates ATP Rankings on February 8
• Fell to del Potro 61 64 in Delray Beach 1R – Argentine’s 1st match since ‘15 ATP Masters 1000 Miami

[Q] Michael Berrer (GER) vs Juan Monaco (ARG) Series Tied 1-1
06 Stuttgart (Germany) Clay R64 Juan Monaco 4-6 7-6(6) 6-4
10 ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo Clay R32 Michael Berrer 6-4 6-4

Berrer 2016 FastFacts:
QF: Montpellier (l A. Zverev)
YTD W-L: 2-1 (2-1 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: July 1, 1980
Emirates ATP Ranking: 112
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 4-5 (3R – 2015)

• The 35-year-old German qualified into main draw for third time with a pair of straight-set wins. Last year turned in his best result in Indian Wells with 3R as a qualifier (d. Estrella Burgos, Gasquet, l. to Simon). Also qualified in 2009 (d. Anderson, l. to No. 1 Nadal)
• Last month, advanced to Montpellier QF (d. Coric and De Schepper, l. to A. Zverev 75 in 3rd)
• Also reached Bergamo, ITA Challenger QF (d. Stepanek and Langer, l. to Barrere)
• Fell in 2R of qualifying at Doha (l. to Becker) and Australian Open (l. to Fritz)

Monaco 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 1-2 (1-2 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 8
Date of Birth: March 29, 1984
Emirates ATP Ranking: 98
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 9-9 (QF – 2010)

• The 31-year-old Argentine is making his 10th Indian Wells appearance and his best result is QFs in 2010 when he beat Fognini, Ferrero and Garcia-Lopez before losing to eventual champion Ljubicic. Last year reached 3R (d. Gabashvili, No. 10 Cilic, l. to Kokkinakis in third set TB)
• Playing in first hard court tournament of season since coming back from right wrist injury last season (withdrew from Australian Open)
• Earned lone win of season in Buenos Aires last month (d. Cecchinato, l. to No. 5 Nadal in 2R)
• Retired from Rio de Janeiro 1R vs. Gimeno-Traver due to right shoulder injury

STADIUM 3

Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) vs Aljaz Bedene (GBR) Bedene Leads 1-0
15 Shenzhen (China) Hard R32 Aljaz Bedene 6-3 6-3

Youzhny 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 0-1 (0-1 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 10
Date of Birth: June 25, 1982
Emirates ATP Ranking: 76
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 4-9 (4R – 2004)

• The 33-year-old Russian is making his 10th Indian Wells appearance and his best result is 4R in second visit in 2004 (d. Lee, No. 13 Philippoussis, Horna, l. to No. 5 Agassi). Since reaching 3R in 2008 (bye, d. Simon, l. to Hewitt), has lost opening matches in 2009 (ret. vs. Troicki), 2013 (bye, l. to L. Mayer) and last year (l. to Hanescu)
• Won 30 of 32 sets to sweep 3 consecutive ATP Challenger Tour titles in January
• Captured 2 titles in Bangkok, THA (d. Soeda and Pavlasek), followed by title at Manila, PHI (d. Chiudinelli). Has a 15-0 record in Challengers this season
• In lone tour-level appearance, qualified at Dubai before losing to Jaziri in 1R
• Re-entered Top 100 of Emirates ATP Rankings on January 18, rising from No. 106 to No. 84

Bedene 2016 FastFacts:
SF: Chennai (l Coric)
YTD W-L: 4-5 (4-4 on hard, 0-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: July 18, 1989
Emirates ATP Ranking: 51
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 0-1 (1R – 2013)

• The 26-year-old British No. 2 is making his second appearance in Indian Wells. Made debut in 2013 and lost to Fognini in 1R. Last year lost in 1R qualifying to Novikov
• Reached QF-or-better for 4th straight year at Chennai, falling in SF (l. to Coric)
• Owns 12-4 career record at Chennai and 31-51 record everywhere else
• Posted only other win of season in Acapulco 1R when opponent Karlovic retired with knee injury
• Held 5 MPs vs. Querrey in Auckland 1R before retiring in 3rd set due to leg injury

[Q] Bjorn Fratangelo (USA) vs Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) First Meeting

Fratangelo 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 0-1 (0-1 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: July 19, 1993
Emirates ATP Ranking: 149
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): Main draw debut

• The 22-year-old American qualified into main draw with a pair of straight-set wins. Last year lost in 2R of qualifying to Coric in third set tie-break
• Made Australian Open debut as LL (l. to Robert 62 62 62 in 1R)
• Fell in final round of qualifying at Memphis (l. to Mmoh 76 in 3rd) and Delray Beach (l. to Ito 64 in 3rd)
• Owns 1-3 record at Challengers, posting lone win at Dallas, USA (d. Donaldson, l. to Evans in 2R)

Gabashvili 2016 FastFacts:
SF: Sydney (l Troicki)
YTD W-L: 7-6 (7-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 23, 1985
Emirates ATP Ranking: 48
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 4-5 (3R – 2007)

• The 30-year-old Russian is making his sixth appearance in Indian Wells and his best result is 3R in 2007 (d. Vliegen, Hrbaty, l. to No. 9 Haas) as a qualifier. Also 2R in 2009 (l. to No. 11 Tsonga) and 2014 (ret. vs. Gasquet)
• No. 1 Russian snapped an 0-16 career record in ATP World Tour QFs by reaching Sydney SF (d. Tomic, l. to Troicki) in January
• Last month, saved 3 MPs to upset defending champion Simon in Marseille 1R (l. to Kyrgios in 2R)
• Achieved career-high No. 43 in Emirates ATP Rankings on February 1
• Defeated Windahl and Arvidsson to help Russia sweep Sweden 5-0 in Davis Cup Europe/Africa Zone Group I

[Q] Peter Polansky (CAN) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP) First Meeting

Polansky 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 0-0
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: June 15, 1988
Emirates ATP Ranking: 542
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 0-1 (1R – 2014)

• The 27-year-old Canadian qualified into main draw for second time in three years. Two years ago, qualified and lost to Monaco in 1R. This is his 10th career ATP Masters 1000 tournament. The other eight have come on home soil at the Rogers Cup in Toronto and Montreal (3-8 record)
• This season, qualified and reached 2R at Challengers in Happy Valley, AUS (d. Tiafoe, l. to Satral) and Morelos, MEX (d. Londero, l. to Zeballos)
• Fell in 1R of qualifying at Australian Open (l. to Ward)
• Won Challenger doubles title at Morelos, MEX w/Bester (d. Arevalo/Galdos 10-6 in Match TB)

Verdasco 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 2-3 (2-2 on hard, 0-1 on clay)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 6
Date of Birth: November 15, 1983
Emirates ATP Ranking: 65
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 13-12 (QF – 2009)

• The 32-year-old Spaniard is making his 13th straight appearance in Indian Wells and his best result is QFs in 2009 (l. to No. 2 Federer). Also 4R in 2014 (d. No. 9 Gasquet in 3R, l. to Isner). Six of his losses have come to Top 10 opponents in the desert (1-6 record)
• In opening month of season, upset No. 5 Nadal in 4h41m, 5-set Australian Open 1R match, avenging loss to countryman 7 years earlier in 5h14m, 5-set Australian Open SF. Then lost to Sela in 2R
• Has played in 51 straight Grand Slam main draws, 3rd-longest active streak (Federer 65, Lopez 56)
• Fell to 0-11 lifetime against World No. 1 with 62 62 loss to Djokovic in Doha 2R
• Withdrew from doubles in Quito w/Lapentti and singles in both Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro due to neck injury
• Fell out of Top 50 on Feb. 8 at No. 57 for first time since June 24, 2013 (at No. 54)

[Q] Vincent Millot (FRA) vs [WC] Mackenzie McDonald (USA) First Meeting

Millot 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 1-1 (1-1 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: January 30, 1986
Emirates ATP Ranking: 166
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): Main draw debut

• The 30-year-old Frenchman qualified into first main draw in Indian Wells with straight-set wins over Americans Nicolas Meister and Austin Krajicek. In 2010 attempted to qualify and lost in 2R (l. to Alves)
• Last month qualified and reached 2R at Marseille (d. Mahut in 3 sets, l. to Paire in 3 sets)
• Fell in qualifying at Australian Open (l. to Olivo in Q3) and Montpellier (l. to Khachanov in Q1)
• Beat Next Generation players Halys, Nishioka and Khachanov en route to Cherbourg, FRA Challenger SF (l. to Thompson)

McDonald 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 0-0
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 16, 1995
Emirates ATP Ranking: 377
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): Main draw debut

• The 20-year-old wild card is making his Indian Wells main draw debut. Last year came in ranked No. 628 into qualifying and lost in 2R (d. Dustov, l. to Berrer)
• Playing in second career ATP World Tour tournament. In 2013, qualified at ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati while unranked and beat Mahut and Johnson (both in three sets) before losing to Goffin in 1R
• Currently a junior on UCLA’s team and played only pro match of season in Los Angeles, USA Futures (l. to King) in January
• Owns 7-1 record at No. 1 singles for Bruins in 2016 and 6-2 at No. 1 doubles w/Redlicki. Lone singles loss of college season came to reigning NCAA champion Shane of Virginia
• Closed last season qualifying at Champaign Challenger and lost to Fritz in three sets in SFs

STADIUM 4

Muller 2016 FastFacts:
SF(2): Sydney (l Dimitrov); Sofia (l Bautista Agut)
YTD W-L: 9-6 (9-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: May 9, 1983
Emirates ATP Ranking: 45
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 3-5 (3R – 2005)

• The 32-year-old Luxembourg native is playing in Indian Wells for sixth time and his best result came in 2005 debut when he reached 3R (d. Lisnard, Stepanek, l. to No. 1 Federer). Also 2R in 2012 (d. Tomic, l. to No. 10 Tipsarevic). Last year lost in opening match (after bye, l. to Sock in third set TB)
• Advanced to SFs at Sydney (d. Thiem in 2R, l. to Dimitrov) and Sofia (d. Garcia-Lopez, l. to Bautista Agut)
• Lost last 7 SF matches since run to 2012 Atlanta final (d. Soeda, l. to Roddick)
• Fell to Millman 46 64 62 46 75 in Australian Open 2R

Estrella Burgos 2016 FastFacts:
W: Quito (d Bellucci)
YTD W-L: 6-3 (1-3 on hard, 5-0 on clay)
YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 2
Date of Birth: August 2, 1980
Emirates ATP Ranking: 67
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): 0-1 (1R – 2015)

• The 35-year-old Dominican Republic native is making his second straight main draw showing. Last year lost in 1R (l. to Berrer in three sets). Lost in 1R qualifying in 2012 (l. to Ebden)
• Last month, captured 2nd ATP World Tour title at Quito, defending title with 46 76(5) 62 win over Bellucci
• Improved to 10-0 in Quito during career (20-33 at other tour-level events excluding Davis Cup)
• Only other win of season came in Acapulco 1R (d. L. Gomez, l. to Fritz)

John Millman (AUS) vs [Q] Alexander Sarkissian (USA) Sarkissian Leads 1-0
15 Bogota (Colombia) Hard R32 Alexander Sarkissian 6-3 6-3

Other meetings:
15 Aptos CH (U.S.A.) Hard R32 John Millman 6-2 6-0
15 Vancouver CH (Canada) Hard R32 John Millman 6-1 6-1

Millman 2016 FastFacts:
QF: Montpellier (l Mathieu)
YTD W-L: 6-7 (6-7 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: June 14, 1989
Emirates ATP Ranking: 74
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): Main draw debut

• The 26-year-old Aussie is making his main draw debut
• Advanced to Grand Slam 3R for 1st time at Australian Open, rallying from 2 sets down to beat Schwartzman before defeating Muller 75 in 5th (l. to Tomic)
• Last month, reached 1st ATP World Tour QF at Montpellier (d. Benneteau and Roger-Vasselin, l. to Mathieu in 3 sets)
• Achieved career-high No. 61 in Emirates ATP Rankings on February 22
• Saved 2 MPs in 67(5) 64 76(6) win over Donskoy in Chennai 1R (l. to Bautista Agut in 2R)
• Held 1 MP vs. Johnson in Delray Beach 1R before falling 63 57 76(8)

Sarkissian 2016 FastFacts:
YTD W-L: 1-1 (1-1 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: April 3, 1990
Emirates ATP Ranking: 176
Indian Wells W-L (Best Result-Year): Main draw debut

• The 25-year-old American is making his main draw debut after winning two qualifying matches
• In January, qualified and reached 2R at Sydney (d. Bolelli for 2nd ATP win of career, l. to Dolgopolov)
• Fell in final round of qualifying at Acapulco (l. to Harrison)
• Advanced to Morelos, MEX Challenger QF (d. Ramirez Hidalgo and Jung, l. to Giannessi)
• Achieved career-high No. 175 in Emirates ATP Rankings on February 29

STADIUM 5

Lukas Rosol (CZE) vs Adrian Mannarino (FRA) Rosol Leads 2-1
11 St. Petersburg (Russia) Hard R16 Adrian Mannarino 6-2 7-6(5)
11 Bratislava CH (Slovakia) Hard QF Lukas Rosol 6-3 7-6(4)
12 Dubai (U.A.E.) Hard R32 Lukas Rosol 6-2 6-2

Other meeting:
07 France F18 (France) Hard F Lukas Rosol 6-3 3-6 6-4

STADIUM 7

Mikhail Kukushkin (KAZ) vs Daniel Munoz de la Nava (ESP) First ATP Meeting

Other meeting:
10 Marburg CH (Germany) Clay R16 Daniel Munoz de la Nava 6-3 4-6 6-3

[Q] Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA) vs [Q] Jozef Kovalik (SVK) First Meeting

Jiri Vesely (CZE) vs Thiemo de Bakker (NED) First Meeting