The World Number 1 will be pleased if he can at least return to North America ahead of the US Open later in the year, but there will be some frustration with the policy that has received plenty of criticism from people with voices that can have a far reaching impact.
I understand the rules are the rules, but the United States could have applied an exemption for an athlete that has twice tested positive for Covid and who was not likely to pose a significant public health concern. Of course you can't just make exceptions for the sake of a sport, but this is a decision that will have frustrated many and both of these Masters events are going to be missing a big draw.
The events in Indian Wells and Miami remain big parts of the Tennis Tour and both the ATP and WTA Tours will be meeting up here in the last hard court events until the preparation for the US Open begins in the summer.
Novak Djokovic can begin working on his clay court tennis, but the players in North America will be looking to take advantage of the absence of the World Number 1.
Much like the WTA events, the ATP Masters tournaments look like they could be wide open affairs with a returning Carlos Alcaraz sitting on top of the draw in Indian Wells.
Daniil Medvedev might be the player to beat having won the big event in Dubai and backed up other tiles won in February, but I do think there are a number of players in the ATP event that will believe they can go all the way to a Masters success.
In the WTA draw, Iga Swiatek is still the top player on the Tour and is coming into the event having had a really productive time in the Middle East. However, I don't think the gap is as big as it was a year ago and there are some players arriving in confident mood which could help the Indian Wells tournament grab some of the sporting headlines in the United States during the March Madness time of the year.
It has been a largely quiet month for the Tennis Picks, but that has been mainly down to the simple reason of me not having the time to make regular selections from the tournaments that have been played since the Australian Open.
I ended February with a very slight profit to back up the decent returns from the Australian Open, but I did not want to make picks on odd days when I knew I was unlikely to have the time to go through a tournament with selections being made with some level of consistency.
Some of that has been down to the intense football schedule which has taken up much of my personal time, but things should be a little more settled in March as I try and work a good path through the two Masters events that have regularly been a thorn in my side.
As I mentioned earlier this season, I feel I have made some adjustments with the way Picks are selected and I do think that has paid off through the first couple of months of the long season.
There will still be one or days through the month where I don't make Tennis Picks- that could be as much to do with not finding a selection that is worth backing as much as any other factor, but for the majority of the next two tournaments I am anticipating having selections, which will be on this site.
The WTA Tournament will begin on Wednesday with First Round action and the ATP Tournament gets underway on Thursday.
These next two events in Indian Wells and Miami may not last as long as the Grand Slams, but they are the longest Masters events on the Tour and so you have to have some patience in order to come away with a couple of positive returns.
Katie Swan - 1.5 games v Cristina Bucsa: Both of these players will be pretty happy with the level shown in Qualifying for the Indian Wells main draw after two wins each, and I think the draw for the First Round will certainly give Katie Swan and Cristina Bucsa a lot of belief.
This is a good chance to pick up some vital Ranking points and both are in decent form.
Katie Swan has yet to really hit the kind of heights some have expected from her, but she has shown she has a decent hard court level and her numbers over the last twelve months are solid. When you only consider matches against players outside of the top 50 in the World Rankings, Swan's 19-4 record really stands up strong, while the 4-2 record against top 100 Ranked opponents on this surface shows there is more to come from the British player.
She will need to prove that on the court against an improving Cristina Bucsa who reached her career best World Ranking mark at the end of January following a tremendous run at the Australian Open. Backing that up will be the test for the Spaniard, but winning two Qualifiers should only increase her confidence.
Over the last twelve months she has beaten those she has been expected to and Bucsa has a soli 18-6 record against players Ranked outside the top 100 on the hard courts.
Katie Swan has won their two previous meetings, but those came a long time ago and I am not sure they are relevant to the outcome of this First Round.
What could be more relevant is the fact that Swan has gotten a bit more out of the first serve so far this season on the hard courts and that could be a big difference in the conditions in Indian Wells where the ball can fly. A slight edge in the returning numbers over Cristina Bucsa could also prove to be decisive and in a close match I do just favour the lower Ranked player looking to move back towards the top 100.
I would not be surprised if a third set is needed to eventually separate the players, but it is the British Qualifier who I favour.
MY PICKS: Katie Swan - 1.5 Games @ 1.85 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Ugo Humbert - 2.5 Games @ 1.72 Bet365 (2 Units)
Jason Kubler @ 2.75 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Yibing Wu - 3.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Tennis 2023: + 13.94 Units (164 Units Staked, + 8.50% Yield)
February 2023: + 0.26 Units (18 Units Staked, + 1.44% Yield)
January 2023: + 13.68 Units (146 Units Staked, + 9.37% Yield)
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