The first stage towards the United States of America is about to arrive. In a month, the first 1000 tournament of the season will begin in the United States: Indian Wells, officially called the BNP Paribas Open. They are followed, in ranking order, by Carlos Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev.
Next up, seeded number six, is Rafael Nadal: in Indian Wells he could return from his Australian Open injury and have a chance to avenge the final he lost last year. The tournament, which runs from March 8 to the March 19 final, has yet to award its wild cards.
There are also no surprises in the women’s draw at the Indian Wells tournament, with Iga Swiatek in the lead; followed by the brand new Grand Slam winner and new number two in the world, Aryna Sabalenka. Australian Open finalist Elena Rybakina is the number 10 seed, while Italian number one Martina Trevisan is number 24.
Djokovic trains in Marbella with the ATP 500 in Dubai in his sights and attentive to what may happen with the American tournaments. Nadal is still in the process of recovering from the injury he suffered at the Australian Open.
Alcaraz has been overtaken by Djokovic
Injured in the right leg in training just a few days before the Australian Open, Carlos Alcaraz is preparing to return to the courts for the ATP 250 in Buenos Aires next week (from 13 to February 19).
Recently interviewed by the Spanish press agency EFE, the man who has just lost his place as world number one to Novak Djokovic was impatient to finally resume competition (he has not played since his retirement in quarter-finals of the Paris Masters 1000 against Rune on November 4, editor’s note).
“I really want to compete again. More than ever because I have never spent so much time without playing tennis. It’s hard. But this break has been useful for me to understand what I can do better – both on and off the pitch.” The emergence of Carlos Alcaraz was slowed down by an injury that could take him number one in the ATP ranking.
The Spanish tennis player prepares his return to activity, which will take place on South American clay. Alcaraz looks impatient to return to the circuit and recover the sensations that at his young age already made him become the best in the world. “I really want to compete again. More than ever, because I have never been so long without doing it.”
