A possible matchup between Nick Kyrgios and Novak Djokovic in the second-round of Indian Wells is on the cards after the draw was released for the 1000 event.
Djokovic, who arrives as the sixth-seed, earns a bye into the round of 64, where he could face Kyrgios, provided the Aussie wins his opening round against a qualifier.
The pair teamed up in doubles action at the Brisbane International, but Kyrgios experienced abdominal pain, which halted his Australian Open campaign.
The former Wimbledon finalist is seeking his first main draw win since October 2022 when he defeated Poland's Kamil Majchrzak at the Japan Open, as he aims to take advantage of his protected ranking privilege.
Alex de Minaur (No.9 seed) and Alexei Popyrin (No.26 seed) are the only two Australians seeded for the Masters tournament, with the former projected to face Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth-round and quarter-finals respectively.
Sticking on the men's side, Rinky Hijikata, Aleksandar Vukic, Christopher O'Connell and Jordan Thompson will fancy their chances after being paired against unseeded players.
Thompson returns to action for the first time since exiting the second-round at Melbourne Park, where he suffered from Plantar Fasciitis. The 30-year-old will need to get past Frenchman Corentin Moutet.
In the final round of qualifying, Adam Walton prepares to tackle America’s Michael Mmoh, while an all-Aussie fair sees James Duckworth and Li Tu square off.
There were no automatic entrants for the Aussie girls, with five players currently battling it out in qualifying.
Top-seed Kimberly Birrell is faced with a tricky opponent in 13th seed Cristina Bucşa in the final phase of qualifying, while Ajla Tomljanović, Maya Joint, Maddison Inglis and Daria Saville are a chance to appear in the main draw.
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