The WTA Premier Event is underway, but the ATP Masters' main draw begins on Thursday and for the first time there will be live pictures of the opening Round of the event rather than waiting for the weekend. It is about time to be perfectly honest when you consider that most ATP 250 events can be streamed for the entire week as well as many Challenger events, so the only surprise is that it took as long as it has for the Masters events to follow suit.
All of the big names on the ATP Tour are in action this week with Marin Cilic returning to action following his lay off at the beginning of the season, although it has saddened me that Juan Martin Del Potro has had to withdraw from the Wild Card he was given. It still looks a long way back for the former US Open winner and a player who is my favourite on the Tour at this moment.
It isn't much of a surprise to me that Novak Djokovic is the favourite to win the title in Indian Wells considering the way the draw has panned out, but Roger Federer should have a lot of confidence having beaten the World Number 1 in Dubai last month. Federer has decided to skip the Masters in Miami which immediately follows this one so there should be a big effort forthcoming from him especially as he has won here 4 times previously, although just once in the last 8 years.
Djokovic is the defending Champion and has a chance to match Federer's 4 successes here, although he has yet to win this event in back to back years. Rafael Nadal is another 3 time winner in Indian Wells, but is still on the road back from injury and we might not see the best of the Spaniard until the clay court kicks off next month.
There have been a couple of surprising Finalists in Indian Wells in recent years and Ivan Ljubicic actually won the title here in 2010 so I do imagine there will be some people out there backing some of the bigger prices on offer, for example Kei Nishikori and Stan Wawrinka at double digit odds, but I will be taking a watching brief when it comes to potential winners in the draw.
Instead I will be making picks through the tournament and hoping to build on what has been a strong first two months of the season. The next month will be taken up by the two events at Indian Wells and Miami and the different conditions will have to be considered in a bid to hopefully keep the positive momentum going forward.
Marcos Baghdatis - 2.5 games v Jiri Vesely: Marcos Baghdatis beat Jiri Vesely twice in 2014 and has been in the better form of the two players and I believe the Cypriot can come through this First Round match.
He was beaten by the conditions in Dubai as cramp got the better of him, but Baghdatis has had something of a revival over the last several months and has all the tools to be very effective on the hard courts of North America.
Jiri Vesely does have a title to his name in 2015, but he has not won a match since and he has a lot of air miles earned over the last couple of weeks. The lack of form must be having a negative affect on the confidence that Vesely brings to the court and I think this being the late night match will suit Baghdatis all the more as the conditions in Indian Wells can get very hot during the day.
The two wins that Baghdatis had over Vesely should give him more belief he can come through this First Round and I will back him to cover the games in this one.
MY PICKS: Marcos Baghdatis - 2.5 Games @ 1.92 Betfair Sportsbook (2 Units)
Indian Wells Update: 1-1, - 0.30 Units (4 Units Staked, - 7.5% Yield)
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