There are few instances Novak Djokovic’s opening match at a tournament will garner such attention as his return to Indian Wells this season. Taking on Japanese qualifier Taro Daniel – a player at No. 109 in the ATP Rankings – on paper, it should be relatively straight forward for the five-time BNP Paribas Open champion.

But after a stop-start return from an elbow injury at the Australian Open, where he exited to Hyeon Chung in the fourth round, the Serbian opted to undergo a “small medical intervention” on his troublesome elbow.

While having put his body to the test on the practice courts, this will be just his second tournament since Wimbledon last July. The 30-year-old made it known his intention at Indian Wells in 2018 was to start rebuilding his confidence and rhythm on court. 

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Djokovic vs Daniel | Isner vs Monfils | Del Potro vs de Minaur

An unprecedented sixth BNP Paribas Open title would pull him one clear of Roger Federer’s tally and one clear of Rafael Nadal for a record 31^st ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy. For now, however, the “one match at a time” mantra has never been more apt.

Japan’s Daniel won through two rounds of qualifying and then held off fellow qualifier Cameron Norrie to book the Djokovic clash. The pair has never met.

A pair of teenager #NextGenATP players will get their chance to back up their maiden respective ATP World Tour Masters 1000 match wins when they meet more fancied seeded players on Sunday. In a pair of David and Goliath clashes, fleet-footed Australian wild card Alex de Minaur takes on No. 6 seed Juan Martin del Potro and qualifier Felix Auger-Aliassime meets his Canadian countryman, 2016 runner-up Milos Raonic, for a place in the third round.

De Minaur impressed on home turf to open the season with a semi-final run in Brisbane (l. Harrison) and his first ATP World Tour final in Sydney (l. Medvedev). The 19-year-old ground down German Jan-Lennard Struff in a battle that lasted more than two and a half hours in the opening round in Indian Wells. Argentine del Potro, meanwhile, is in red-hot form having picked up his biggest title in five years in Acapulco, where he downed three Top 10 players in succession (Thiem, A. Zverev and Anderson).

After his victory over fellow Canadian qualifier Vasek Pospisil in just his third ATP World Tour event, 17-year-old Auger-Aliassime has the chance to send his highest-ranked compatriot packing when he takes on No. 32 seed Raonic. The 27-year-old Raonic is looking to improve on a 1-3 start to 2018.

Fourth seed Alexander Zverev will open his campaign on Sunday against Portugal’s Joao Sousa. The #NextGenATP German is coming off a semi-final defeat in Acapulco (l. del Potro) and went down to Nick Kyrgios in the third round in Indian Wells last year. Sousa, No. 85 in the ATP Rankings, edged past Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny in a third-set tie-break to reach the second round. Zverev beat Sousa in three sets in their lone prior FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter in Nice, 2016.

After a self-imposed post-Australian Open off-season to recoup mentally and regain full fitness, American No. 1 Jack Sock returns to Indian Wells with semi-final points to defend after his breakout run last season. With a 1-4 record, the eighth seed is keen to resurrect his slow start to the season when he faces Italian Thomas Fabbiano for the first time.

Two players who enjoyed stellar runs at this year’s Australian Open – No. 2 seed Marin Cilic and Martin Fucsovics – will square off for a place in the third round. Croatian Cilic finished runner-up in five sets to Roger Federer at Melbourne Park, while Hungary’s Fucsovics also fell to the Swiss in what was his maiden fourth round appearance at a Grand Slam. Cilic narrowly claimed the duo’s only previous encounter in Basel last season.

Year after year, the BNP Paribas Open continues to set the benchmark for tennis excellence on the ATP World Tour. The prestigious tournament in Indian Wells is consistently at the forefront of sporting innovation and is highly regarded by players and fans as one of the best events on the calendar.

On Saturday, the tournament in the California desert was honoured once again, receiving its trophy as the top Masters 1000 event in the 2017 ATP World Tour Awards presented by Moët & Chandon. It marked the fourth consecutive year in which it has celebrated the achievement. 

Linda Clark, ATP Vice President – Tournament Relations, Americas, presented tournament director Tommy Haas with the trophy in an on-court ceremony following Dominic Thiem’s victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

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“As both a player and now as Tournament Director, I can understand why this event has been named Tournament of the Year for the fourth straight year,” said Haas. “I have an incredible amount of respect for the countless hours of planning and dedication that the entire staff contributes to make the BNP Paribas Open one of the best sporting events in the world, and this award re-affirms that our actions are being appreciated by the players. We remain focused on improving the event every year and hope to make the 2018 edition even more memorable for fans, players, media and sponsors.”

Prior to the 2017 tournament, the Indian Wells Tennis Garden underwent extensive renovations designed to enhance the overall fan experience, including substantial upgrades to Stadium 1 – ranging from a massive expansion of the Stadium Plaza to renovating all the suites and hospitality spaces to adding 21 new restaurants and concessions. Leading up to this year’s edition, the tournament underwent a full-scale beautification project, including the addition of 62 palm trees, as part of a sweeping ‘green’ initiative.

The Tournament of the Year awards, voted annually by ATP World Tour players, recognise the leading standards set across the three tournament categories on the Tour. The Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC and the Qatar ExxonMobil Open won the remaining two awards, in the ATP World Tour 500 and 250 tournament categories respectively.

Visit the official ATP World Tour Awards section on ATPWorldTour.com.