Tiafoe Opens Indian Wells Campaign Among 10 Home Contenders
Frances Tiafoe begins his fifth BNP Paribas Open campaign on Thursday, leading a strong home contingent of 10 American men in action on Day 1 at Indian Wells.
Since beating Taylor Fritz in 2016, the 23-year-old has not passed the first round in four subsequent attempts. But he will carry a 1-0 ATP Head2Head record into his opening clash with Frenchman Benoit Paire on Stadium 1. The World No. 49 has already notched some notable wins on his North American hard-court swing, taking down then-No. 10 Denis Shapovalov in Toronto and No. 7 Andrey Rublev in five sets to reach the fourth round at the US Open (l. to Auger-Aliassime).
Countryman Tommy Paul will also feature on Stadium 1 as he attempts to fell veteran Spaniard Feliciano Lopez for the first time on Thursday. Lopez holds a 15-17 record in the desert and will pull clear of Roger Federer for most ATP Masters 1000 appearances with 139 when he takes on the 24-year-old American. The Spaniard, who celebrated his 40th birthday last month, had his best run at Indian Wells in 2015 when he reached the quarter-finals (l. to Murray).
Most ATP Masters 1000 Appearances
| No. | Player | Events |
| 1T. | Feliciano Lopez | 138 |
| 1T. | Roger Federer | 138 |
| 3. | Fernando Verdasco | 129 |
| 4T. | David Ferrer | 123 |
| 4T. | Rafael Nadal | 123 |
Two young Americans look to make good on wild cards when they make their respective Indian Wells main draw debuts on Thursday. #NextGenATP 18-year-old Zachary Svajda, a two-time USTA Boys’ 18s national champion, takes on Italian qualifier Salvatore Caruso for the first time, while 22-year-old J.J. Wolf meets experienced Canadian Vasek Pospisil.
Wolf fell in qualifying in his only prior appearance in the desert in 2019. The 31-year-old Pospisil upset then-World No. 1 Andy Murray as a qualifier in the second round in 2017 on his way to the round of 32.
Former World No. 11 Sam Querrey opens play on Stadium 1 when he takes on German Daniel Altmaier. The 33-year-old is looking for his first singles win since Wimbledon and will carry a 1-0 ATP Head2Head record into the clash.
Former World No. 4 Kei Nishikori begins his 10th Indian Wells campaign against Portuguese qualifier Joao Sousa, the former World No. 28 . The Japanese star has an 11-10 record in the desert, including two quarter-final appearances, but fell to Hubert Hurkacz in the round of 32 in 2019.