Carlos Alcaraz receives horror draw as Indian Wells title defence begins with uphill task ahead

The draw for Indian Wells was made in the early hours of this morning and inevitably resulted in some intriguing ties. As is the case with all big tournaments, fans and players like to map out the path in a particular section to see what potential matchups could occur.

As the second seed at the competition, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz should face a straightforward start in California; the Spaniard will face Luca Van Assche or Matteo Arnaldi in round two, before a tussle with Canadian and former Paris Masters champion Felix Auger-Aliassime in round three - should he get this far of course.

It would be at this point where things would heat up for Alcaraz as he could take on a player the calibre of Karen Khachanov or Chilean Nicolas Jarry. That is just the 20-year-old's mini section of the draw.

At this point it really is speculative, but there is the scenario of a quarter final against Alexander Zverev or in-form Alex de Minaur, while Alcaraz is also on the same side of the draw as red-hot Jannik Sinner where the two could play in the semis. He can only play Rafael Nadal, whom he beat in 'The Netflix Slam' recently, and Novak Djokovic in the final.