Daniil Medvedev is competing as the No. 1 player in the ATP Rankings for the first time at the BNP Paribas Open, but that did not help his draw on Tuesday afternoon. The top seed could play Rafael Nadal in a blockbuster semi-final in the California desert, with fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in his quarter.

If Medvedev and Nadal make it to the last four, they will clash for the third time in less than two months. The legendary lefty has won both of their meetings this year, rallying from two sets down for a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open before defeating Medvedev again at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC in straight sets.

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The 26-year-old will be chasing his first title in the California desert, where he owns a 5-4 record. Last year, he reached the Round of 16 before losing a tough three-setter in the Round of 16 against 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov. Medvedev, who is 12-3 on the season, has excelled at ATP Masters 1000s, where he has won four of his 13 tour-level trophies. He has triumphed at least once at this level in each of the past three seasons.

👀 ➡️ Round 2️⃣

Sebastian Korda could meet three-time BNP Paribas Open champion Rafael Nadal in the second round…#IndianWells pic.twitter.com/N6Bri7CHQl

— BNP Paribas Open (@BNPPARIBASOPEN) March 8, 2022

The World No. 1 will open his run against Australian Alexei Popyrin or a qualifier. Medvedev could meet 26th seed Gael Monfils in the third round, reigning Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round and fifth seed Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals.

Defending champion Cameron Norrie is also in the top quarter of the draw. The 12th-seeded Briton will open his title defence against Spaniard Pedro Martinez or a qualifier, with a potential rematch against 2021 Indian Wells finalist Nikoloz Basilashvili in the third round.

Nobody arrives at Indian Wells in better form than Nadal, who has enjoyed a career-best 15-0 start to the season. The fourth seed is a three-time champion at this event, where he is set to compete for the first time since 2019.

Nadal made at least the semi-finals in eight consecutive appearances at Indian Wells from 2006-13. The lefty has tallied a 54-10 record at the Masters 1000 event, and the 35-year-old will try to claim a record-tying 37th crown at this level. 

The Spaniard might face a familiar foe in the second round, if Sebastian Korda defeats a qualifier. The American looked up to Nadal and they trained together on Tuesday morning. Nadal defeated Korda in the fourth round of Roland Garros in 2020.

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Eighth seed Casper Ruud is the next highest-ranked player in Nadal’s quarter, which also features 10th seed Jannik Sinner, 13th seed Denis Shapovalov and big-serving American Reilly Opelka. Crafty Briton Daniel Evans is the first seeded opponent Rafa could play.

Wild card Nick Kyrgios is also in Nadal’s quarter, but on the opposite half. The Australian begins his American swing against Argentine Sebastian Baez, who competed in Milan last year.

Second seed Novak Djokovic was drawn to face 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin or Australian Jordan Thompson in the second round. The Serbian began his season in Dubai, where he lost in the quarter-finals against Czech lefty Jiri Vesely.

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray, who received a wild card, will play a qualifier in the first round for the right to challenge dangerous shotmaker Alexander Bublik, the 31st seed. Third seed Alexander Zverev will face Dimitrov or American Tommy Paul in the second round.

Before they get down to the serious business of competing for the BNP Paribas Open title, ATP Tour stars including Stefanos Tsitsipas and World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev are early this week suiting up for the annual ATP photo shoot on the grounds of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Held in recent years at the Australian Open, the shoot was postponed last year due to Covid-19. So players are sporting extra wide smiles with their new kits this week as they join their WTA colleagues in preening for photographic, video and social media content. About 150 players will participate across four days.

An early arrival in Indian Wells, Tsitsipas was among the first players in front of the cameras Monday, along with Hubert Hurkacz, Jannik Sinner, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur. WTA stars on deck Monday included Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza and Ajla Tomljanovic.

Medvedev will head ATP players on duty Tuesday, joining the likes of Andrey Rublev, Andy Murray, Grigor Dimitrov, Carlos Alcaraz, Gael Monfils and Nick Kyrgios.

Main-draw play at the BNP Paribas Open begins Thursday. Due to the pandemic, this is the first time since 2019 that the tournament has been held in its traditional March dates. Medvedev leads 19 of the World’s Top 20 players in action.

Thanasi Kokkinakis’ struggles with injury and illness have been well-covered. The Australian has admitted there have been plenty of doubts about whether he would ever reach his potential.

But with the biggest breakthrough of his career in January — winning his first ATP Tour singles title in Adelaide and triumphing in the Australian Open doubles with Nick Kyrgios — Kokkinakis has changed the narrative.

“I proved that the mind is probably the most important thing. Obviously you’ve got to have some skill and a work ethic to balance it out, but if you’re strong with your mind and you keep pushing, you never know,” Kokkinakis told ATPTour.com. “The fortunate thing with tennis is you’re only a week away from turning your career around, so that’s the biggest thing.”

^{Thanasi Kokkinakis celebrates his first ATP Tour singles title in Adelaide. Photo Credit: Tennis Australia.}
Kokkinakis first cracked the Top 100 in the ATP Rankings in May of 2015, just after his 19th birthday. But since then, the Australian has had his fair share of ups and downs, suffering injuries to his shoulder, abdominal and pectoral just to name a few. He also missed all of 2020 due to mono.

Last year, Kokkinakis mostly spent his days on the ATP Challenger Tour. He began this season at World No. 171.

“It seemed far even in December,” Kokkinakis said of a big breakthrough. “I knew I was capable of winning a couple of matches. I knew what I could play like [at my] top level, but to back it up and have that consistency, that’s been the most impressive part.”

Now Kokkinakis is back in the Top 100 for the first time in six years and he will look to continue his surge at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. The fan favourite believes there is a lesson others can take from his journey.

“I think it’s just not going to happen overnight. There are a lot of steps that need to be done and keeping the faith, keeping the hope a little bit [is important],” Kokkinakis said. “It can seem very, very far away, but a lot of the time if you put some good days together, some good weeks and some good months together and keep going slowly, that’s the way forward.

“Hopefully they saw the story of what the past few years have been like for me and if that gives them some positivity, that’s perfect for me.”

^{Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios lift the Australian Open doubles trophy. Photo Credit: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.}
The 25-year-old has had little time to celebrate. Kokkinakis departed Australia on 1 March. He was able to enjoy himself by taking in a basketball game between the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets, later catching up with Nets player Patty Mills, who is also Australian. But after tournaments in Delray Beach and Acapulco, he is back to business.

“There’s not really much time to reset as a tennis player. For something that big to happen to me in January, a lot of other sports that’s like winning the championship, you have a lot of time off and celebrate for a while, refresh and go again,” Kokkinakis said. “In tennis you don’t really have much time for that and if you do, you risk getting left behind. That’s the tricky thing. I’ve just got to find a way and get myself going again.”

Kokkinakis admitted that there “definitely feels like a weight off my shoulders” following his big effort Down Under. But with that, there is extra pressure, which is something he eventually wanted. The World No. 94 understands every week will likely not be as successful as his runs in Adelaide and Melbourne, but that will not stop him from trying.

“I think you want to make the most of the opportunity I’ve given myself. You want to see how far you can push it,” Kokkinakis said. “It was a little tough trying to get myself going again after the January I had. I felt like I was playing for a whole month every day, every other day. [It is about] trying to get myself mentally into a spot where i’m like, ‘Hang on, there’s a lot more work to do’ and try to get the most out of myself.”

One of the most difficult things for Kokkinakis was actually leaving Australia. He returned home last November, but said during the preseason it is tough to spend quality time with friends and family because of training. Although it was tough for him to head back on the road, he hopes to make the most of his momentum.

“It’s been a pretty crazy start to the year,” Kokkinakis said. “It’s not something I expected, but it’s definitely something I worked really hard for.”

The ATP, WTA, ITF, and the four Grand Slams — the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open — have announced today a new initiative to support the humanitarian relief efforts for the war in Ukraine.

Following unified condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a statement issued by the seven organisations on 1 March, further efforts to support those affected by this crisis will take place as part of the newly created Tennis Plays For Peace campaign over the coming weeks.

Today each of the seven entities has donated $100,000 USD to the humanitarian relief efforts, with donations supporting Global Giving’s Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, which will provide immediate help on the ground across the region, as well as the Ukraine Tennis Federation.

The seven bodies will also signal support via their social and digital platforms by prominently featuring the Ukraine ribbon icon, with everyone in the tennis ecosystem encouraged to use the hashtag #TennisPlaysforPeace. In addition, physical ribbons will be distributed for ATP & WTA players to wear at the upcoming BNP Paribas Open tournament in Indian Wells.

Ukrainian tennis players Elina Svitolina and Sergiy Stakhovsky, who has himself returned to Ukraine to join the reserve army, have produced a powerful and emotive short video with a message of hope for their country.

Tournaments and tennis federations across the world, along with the entire playing spectrum — from juniors, seniors and wheelchair athletes — will be sent a digital toolkit to further drive awareness and support the relief efforts.

All seven organisations thank players, tournaments, staff and fans for their incredible efforts already, and further plans for Tennis Plays for Peace will be communicated in the coming weeks.

Click here to make a donation to Global Giving in support of the humanitarian relief efforts.

Watch Tennis Plays For Peace on YouTube