4 ATP players who will be making their Indian Wells debut in 2021
In the absence of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, newly-crowned US Open champion Daniil Medvedev will lead the field at this year's BNP Paribas Open.
The tournament, which gets underway at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Thursday, will have a first-time winner as no former champion has entered the men's singles draw this year.
That opens the door for Next Gen stars to make a deep run at one of the most prestigious events on the tennis calendar. Here, we take a look at four youngsters who could make an impact on their debut at Indian Wells.
#4 Sebastian Korda
Sebastian Korda is in the middle of a breakthrough season. He won his first-ever ATP title at the Emilia-Romagna Open, reached the final at Delray Beach and also made his top-50 debut.
Korda, who is now the fourth-highest ranked American in the ATP rankings, will be making his debut at the BNP Paribas Open this week as the 32nd seed.
The 21-year-old has landed in the top half of the draw and could face fellow American Frances Tiafoe in the second round.
#3 Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz, much like Korda, has ticked all the boxes with respect to a breakthrough season. At 18 years and four months, he is the youngest player in the top 100 of the men's singles rankings.
The Spaniard had quite a run at the US Open, where he took out the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Cameron Norrie en route to the quarterfinals.
Alcaraz will be hoping to carry his recent hardcourt form into Indian Wells, where he will need to be at his best as he is likely to face three-time Slam champion Andy Murray in the second round.
#2 Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner will also be making his debut at the BNP Paribas Open this year. The Italian, who reached his first Masters 1000 final at the 2021 Miami Open, enters Indian Wells in red-hot form, having won the title in Sofia last week.
Sinner suffered a few early exits in the lead-up to the US Open, but has since rediscovered his best form and has won seven of his last eight hardcourt matches.
The 19-year-old has already won three hardcourt titles this season, including one at the ATP 500 level in Washington. Having been handed a relatively easy draw at Indian Wells, Sinner will fancy his chances of making a deep run.
#1 Casper Ruud
Casper Ruud, the newest member of the top-10 club, will also make his long-awaited BNP Paribas Open debut this week. The Norwegian entered the qualifying draw in the 2018 and 2019 editions of the tournament, but fell short of the main draw on both occasions.
Two years on, Ruud will be one of the highest seeds (6) in the tournament. The Norwegian's game has improved in leaps and bounds over the past couple of seasons.
He has won more titles than any other player on the ATP tour this year, with his most recent triumph coming at the San Diego Open last week.
Ruud has landed in a relatively easy section of the draw and should be able to put on a strong showing on his Indian Wells debut.