Indian Wells 2025 men's draw:  Biggest winners and losers ft. Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic

The main draw of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells will get underway on Friday, March 7. Almost all the top seeds, including five-time winner Novak Djokovic, in the men's section are participating in the tournament, with Jannik Sinner being the only exception. It is the first Masters 1000 tournament of the year.

The draw for the tournament was released last Monday. Some of the top seeds have a difficult path, while some have easier ones.

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Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev have relatively easy draws at Indian Wells:

Carlos Alcaraz is chasing his third consecutive title in Indian Wells this year. The Spaniard, who will turn 22 in a couple of months, has had a relatively easy draw at this year’s tournament.

Alcaraz, who is the second seed, might face Djokovic in the quarterfinals in what would be one of the most anticipated matches of the tournament. However, prior to that, he might face the likes of Quentin Halys in the second round. He might then go on to face two seeded players, Denis Shapovalov and Sebastian Korda, the 27th and 24th seeds, respectively, in the next two rounds.

Shapovalov and Korda are good players, but Alcaraz leads the head-to-head with them 1-0 and 4-1, respectively. The Spaniard might face the veteran Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16 before setting up a potential showdown with Djokovic. Should Alcaraz win that match, he might face Andrey Rublev in the semifinals.

Daniil Medvedev, who was the runner-up in Indian Wells last year, has gotten a nice draw this time around. The 28-year-old Russian might take on unseeded Yunchaokete Bu in the second round. He might then face 31st-seed Alexander Michelsen in the third round and 10th seed Tommy Paul in the fourth. The Russian might face fourth-seed Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals.

Medvedev, who is the fifth seed, could potentially face Alexander Zverev in the semifinals. The Russian will fancy his chances of reaching the last four quite easily. It might help him win his first title in Indian Wells.

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Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev have difficult draws:

Aside from the potential quarterfinal clash with Alcaraz already mentioned, Djokovic might have to face a few other dangerous opponents as well. He might face the big-serving Nick Kyrgios in the second round and then Francisco Cerundolo and Alex de Minaur in the third and fourth rounds, respectively. Djokovic has a negative (1-2) head-to-head against Kyrgios, though the Serb beat the Aussie in their latest match, the Wimbledon final in 2022.

De Minaur is the ninth seed and one of the most consistent players around. Top seed Alexander Zverev, too, will start his campaign on a difficult note, facing either Miomir Kecmanovic or Tallon Griekspoor in the second round. The German leads the head-to-head with Griekspoor 6-1, but only has a slim 2-1 advantage against Kecmanovic.

Zverev might then face Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the third round and 16th seed Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round. Perricard has a huge serve and a powerful game and Tiafoe is a formidable proposition on home soil. Zverev might then come across eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals. Tsitsipas actually leads Zverev 10-6 in their head-to-head.

Rublev, the seventh seed, might have to face the dangerous Matteo Arnaldi in the second round itself. He might then face Brandon Nakashima and Karen Khachanov, the 32nd and 22nd seeds, respectively, in the next two rounds. Rublev might have to face 11th seed Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals and Alcaraz or Djokovic in the last four. Shelton leads their head-to-head 1-0 at the moment.