Defending champions Fritz, Swiatek headline Indian Wells main draw

When his title defence at Indian Wells gets off this week, American Taylor Fritz will face either Italian Fabio Fognini or compatriot Ben Shelton, while top-ranked Iga Swiatek might face 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu in the third round. Last year, Fritz overcame severe discomfort to break Rafa Nadal's 20-match winning streak and win his maiden Masters 1000 title. As the main draw is revealed on Monday, Fritz will hope for another fairytale result. In the quarterfinal, Fritz may face Holger Rune of Denmark due to a thinly populated men's field. When he defeated 22-time major champion Novak Djokovic in Paris last year, seventh-seed Rune also captured his first Masters championship. Red-hot While Spain's top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz could play Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals, Daniil Medvedev, who won his third consecutive title in Dubai this month, is likely to face third-seeded Casper Ruud in the final eight. The tournament's top seed, Novak Djokovic, withdrew on Sunday. Rafael Nadal, who hasn't played since aggravating a hip issue after his Australian Open loss in the second round, also withdrew. On the women's side, Swiatek appears to be in good shape to win a second consecutive title in the desert of southern California after winning the previous year with ease and an incredible undefeated run. During her quarterfinal match against Caroline Garcia, After facing either American Claire Liu or Belgian Alison van Uytvanck in her opening round, she may play WTA Finals champion Caroline Garcia in the quarterfinals. Canadian Adriana Andreescu also received a first-round bye. Second seed Aryna Sabalenka, who just won her first Grand Slam match in Australia, will open the competition against either Alize Cornet or Evgeniya Rodina. Barbora Krejcikova, who she may face in the fourth round, offers her the chance to get some payback for ending her 13-match winning run in Dubai last month.