Novak Djokovic does not regret his decision not to be vaccinated against COVID-19, despite losing the world number one ranking.

Djokovic has spent a record 380 weeks at the top of the rankings but was unable to compete in the first two ATP 1000 events of the season – the Indian Wells Open and the Miami Open – after his request for special permission to travel to the United States was declined.

The US currently bars unvaccinated travellers from entering the country, although that policy is set to be scrapped in May. 

With the 22-time grand slam champion unable to feature, Carlos Alcaraz returned to the top of the rankings with victory at Indian Wells.

"I have no regrets," Djokovic told CNN.

"It's a pity that I wasn't able to play in Indian Wells [and] Miami. I love those tournaments. I had plenty of success there. But at the same time, it is the conscious decision I made and I knew that there was always a possibility that I wouldn't go. 

"It is the current state or current situation that I hope will change later this year for the US Open. That is the most important tournament for me on American soil.

"I've learned through life that regrets only hold you back and basically make you live in the past and I don't want to do that. 

"I also don't want to live too much in the future. I want to be as much as in the present moment, but of course, think about the future and create a better future."

Alcaraz, who won the US Open in 2022, romped to last week's title at Indian Wells with a comprehensive 6-3 6-2 victory against Daniil Medvedev in the final.

"I congratulate Alcaraz," Djokovic said. "He absolutely deserves to come back to number one."

Djokovic's attention will now turn to the clay season in Europe as he gears up to try and win a third French Open title.

"I'm as enthusiastic as ever, as motivated as ever for the sport, my family, my foundation, all the projects and everything I'm doing off the court," he added.

"The dignity, and integrity, and staying true to myself, and my beliefs and my rights are above everything."

Jack Draper has pulled out of the Miami Open due to an abdominal injury that forced him to retire from his match against Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells.

The Briton suffered a tear to his oblique muscle during his fourth round encounter with the Spaniard, forcing him to bring the match to a premature end in the second set.

While Alcaraz went on to win the tournament and reclaim his position as world number one, Draper is now set for a spell on the sidelines.

The 21-year-old has decided to withdraw from Miami, in order to focus on making a full recovery rather than risk aggravating the issue.

The world number 43 struggled for fitness during the 2021 season, but played 22 events last year and reached the quarter-finals of the Canadian Open.

Alcaraz won his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami last year by beating Casper Ruud in the final. 

After being awarded a bye into the second round, he will face either Facundo Bagnis or a qualifier and could take on Andy Murray in round three as he eyes a Sunshine Double.

New world number one Carlos Alcaraz says he played "perfect" in Sunday's final demolition of Daniil Medvedev to cap a "perfect tournament" as he lifted the Indian Wells title for the first time.

Despite Medvedev coming into Sunday's decider on a 19-match winning streak, Alcaraz dominated 6-3 6-2 to win in 72 minutes.

Alcaraz's Indian Wells triumph was his third ATP Masters 1000 crown from three finals, not dropping a set in any of those deciders.

The 19-year-old Spaniard went through the Indian Wells Open without dropping a set and reflected that it was a "perfect" fortnight for him.

"It feels amazing to lift the trophy here [and] to recover the number one," Alcaraz told reporters, having reclaimed the top rank from Novak Djokovic due to his victory.

"It has been the perfect tournament. It was a goal for me, this tournament that I really wanted to win. For me, it's amazing."

The lopsided nature of Alcaraz's victory over Medvedev in the final caught many by surprise, hitting 19-4 winners against the in-form fifth seed.

"Honestly I didn’t expect that," Alcaraz said. "I expected a tough match but I played perfect. I said before against Daniil you have to play your best and tactically at your best level as well. I did perfect today. That's why it looks easy but it wasn’t."

Alcaraz added he was delighted to reclaim the number one rank which he had lost after Djokovic won the 2023 Australian Open which he missed due to injury.

Djokovic was unable to participate at Indian Wells due to being unvaccinated for COVID-19, with the pair actually not facing off at any events this year.

Alcaraz returned from abdominal and hamstring injuries last month at the Argentina Open and Rio Open before competing at Indian Wells, while Djokovic was in action at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The next opportunity for the pair to face off as at April's Monte Carlo Masters.

"Novak is one of the best players in the world," Alcaraz said. "That's obvious. I always say, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. I really wanted to play against Novak again. We miss him on tour and hopefully to have him back very, very soon."

Alcaraz added: "It feels great to be back on the number one. Of course, every player on the ATP wants to be the number one. For me, it's a dream come true again. Obviously being in front of such great players like Novak, the top player, it's an amazing feeling."

Despite Djokovic being unable to compete at Indian Wells, Medvedev said he felt Alcaraz's return to the top rank was a true number one.

"One hundred per cent," Medvedev said. "It's unfortunate Novak can't play all the tournaments. If you get injured, Rafa is injured for some time, we cannot say if Rafa isn’t injured he would be number one, because we cannot know. Same about Novak.

"For sure if he was able to play last year and this year all the tournaments there is a possibility that the rankings would be different but Carlos is deservedly number one, he won more points than everybody else in the last 52 weeks and he was also year-end number one last year."

New world number one Carlos Alcaraz says he played "perfect" in Sunday's final demolition of Daniil Medvedev to cap a "perfect tournament" as he lifted the Indian Wells title for the first time.

Despite Medvedev coming into Sunday's decider on a 19-match winning streak, Alcaraz dominated 6-3 6-2 to win in 72 minutes.

Alcaraz's Indian Wells triumph was his third ATP Masters 1000 crown from three finals, not dropping a set in any of those deciders.

The 19-year-old Spaniard went through the Indian Wells Open without dropping a set and reflected that it was a "perfect" fortnight for him.

"It feels amazing to lift the trophy here [and] to recover the number one," Alcaraz told reporters, having reclaimed the top rank from Novak Djokovic due to his victory.

"It has been the perfect tournament. It was a goal for me, this tournament that I really wanted to win. For me, it's amazing."

The lopsided nature of Alcaraz's victory over Medvedev in the final caught many by surprise, hitting 19-4 winners against the in-form fifth seed.

"Honestly I didn’t expect that," Alcaraz said. "I expected a tough match but I played perfect. I said before against Daniil you have to play your best and tactically at your best level as well. I did perfect today. That's why it looks easy but it wasn’t."

Alcaraz added he was delighted to reclaim the number one rank which he had lost after Djokovic won the 2023 Australian Open which he missed due to injury.

Djokovic was unable to participate at Indian Wells due to being unvaccinated for COVID-19, with the pair actually not facing off at any events this year.

Alcaraz returned from abdominal and hamstring injuries last month at the Argentina Open and Rio Open before competing at Indian Wells, while Djokovic was in action at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The next opportunity for the pair to face off as at April's Monte Carlo Masters.

"Novak is one of the best players in the world," Alcaraz said. "That's obvious. I always say, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. I really wanted to play against Novak again. We miss him on tour and hopefully to have him back very, very soon."

Alcaraz added: "It feels great to be back on the number one. Of course, every player on the ATP wants to be the number one. For me, it's a dream come true again. Obviously being in front of such great players like Novak, the top player, it's an amazing feeling."

Despite Djokovic being unable to compete at Indian Wells, Medvedev said he felt Alcaraz's return to the top rank was a true number one.

"One hundred per cent," Medvedev said. "It's unfortunate Novak can't play all the tournaments. If you get injured, Rafa is injured for some time, we cannot say if Rafa isn’t injured he would be number one, because we cannot know. Same about Novak.

"For sure if he was able to play last year and this year all the tournaments there is a possibility that the rankings would be different but Carlos is deservedly number one, he won more points than everybody else in the last 52 weeks and he was also year-end number one last year."

Daniil Medvedev joked about a love-hate relationship with the Indian Wells Open court and his failure to create an entertaining final after his heavy defeat to Carlos Alcaraz.

Medvedev's winning streak was halted at 19 matches by the sensational Alcaraz, who claimed his third Masters 1000 title in style on Sunday.

Alcaraz won 6-3 6-2 in just 72 minutes to return to the summit of the ATP rankings, with Novak Djokovic having been unable to feature in the United States due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.

Medvedev had won three titles in a row – at the Rotterdam Open, Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships, where he beat Djokovic – ahead of competing at Indian Wells, yet proved no match for the imperious Alcaraz, who he had beaten in their only previous meeting, at Wimbledon in 2021.

The Russian had to overcome several hurdles to reach the final, having rolled his ankle in his fourth-round win over Alexander Zverev while he also hurt his thumb in a quarter-final defeat of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Yet despite the trials and tribulations, and his humbling loss in the final, Medvedev was in good spirits.

"I had a pretty toxic relationship here with the courts, a love-hate relationship," Medvedev chuckled. "So I'd like to thank the court!

"I only played on this court. I gave it a hard time so it gave me a hard time also. Rolled the ankle, the thumb... but it gave me the chance to finish the tournament.

"Thanks a lot to this court, I'll definitely be back.

"I really love this tournament, I'll be happy to come back many more years to come and hopefully I can start to love this court and Indian Wells together."

Addressing the crowd, Medvedev quipped: "Sorry I didn't make this final entertaining. I tried, I don't like to lose, but today was unfortunately pretty easy. I hope you still enjoyed it."

Alcaraz is one of only three players to hold a 100 per cent record in multiple ATP Masters 1000 finals, having now won in the finals of the Miami Open, Indian Wells Open and Madrid Open without dropping a set.

"I'd like to congratulate Carlos," said Medvedev. "You already have amazing achievements in your career and I'm sure many more to come.

"Today's one more of them, winning Indian Wells. I also dream of it – maybe next time you'll give me the chance!

"Congrats to you and your team. You're probably the most respectful player on Tour, you probably say hi to 300 people a day. I've rarely seen it!"

Alcaraz returned the plaudits, telling Medvedev he serves as an inspiration to be "better on the court and off the court".

"It has been a really amazing run here, such an amazing experience," the 19-year-old added.

When asked if he had played a near perfect match, Alcaraz told Amazon Prime: "Yes, probably. I played really, really well.

"I made no tactical mistakes, which is really important against Daniil. I would say I was perfect in that way.

"I'm really happy with the way I played, the trophy and of course to be world number one."

While Alcaraz will return to the top of the world on Monday, compatriot and idol Rafael Nadal is set to drop out of the top 10 for the first time since April 2005.

World number two Carlos Alcaraz is through to the Indian Wells Open semi-final after defeating 11th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4 6-4 on Thursday.

Alcaraz, 19, continued his terrific start to 2023, now boasting 12 wins from his first 13 matches of the year after winning the Argentina Open and reaching the Rio Open final.

But despite the Spaniard's status as the game's top young talent, he came into the contest winless in his three previous meetings against Canada's Auger-Aliassime.

What separated the two this time around was Alcaraz's ability to keep the ball in play. He produced 26 winners with only eight unforced errors, and while Auger-Aliassime was not much worse (24 winners, 13 unforced errors), he committed six double faults.

He is now one match away from reaching the third Masters 1000 final of his career, having won both the Miami Open and the Madrid Open this past season.

Meeting him in the semi-final will be Italy's Jannik Sinner after he prevailed 6-4 4-6 6-4 against hometown hero Taylor Fritz.

In the seesawing contest, Sinner narrowly edged the total point count 94-86 – with both committing exactly 17 unforced errors – but the Italian created nine break point chances compared to Fritz's three.

Since the beginning of the Australian Open, Sinner sports a 14-2 record, with the only losses in that span coming against world number three Stefanos Tsitsipas and world number six Daniil Medvedev.

It will be the sixth meeting between Sinner and Alcaraz, with the Spanish teen taking in a 3-2 edge after a five-set thriller at the US Open.

Carlos Alcaraz felt "really proud" to complete 100 wins at ATP Tour level while still a teenager as the world number two marched on at the Indian Wells Open.

Only John McEnroe has reached a century of victories in fewer matches, the ATP said, with the American getting there from 131 contests while it took Alcaraz 132 to get to that landmark.

Alcaraz made it 10 wins from 11 matches in 2023 by defeating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 on Monday at the California tournament.

The Spanish prodigy last year won the US Open and in doing so became the youngest men's world number one, with Novak Djokovic having since clawed back top spot.

Victory over Griekspoor made Alcaraz the third men's tour player born after 2000 to claim 100 tour wins, after Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime, said OptaAce.

The youngster's first tour-level win came against fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas at the 2020 Rio Open, with the then 16-year-old wrapping up a 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 7-6 (7-2) at 3am local time.

The latest victory was his 24th at ATP 1000 level, going past Djokovic on the all-time ranking for wins at that elite tier by players before turning 20.

Alcaraz trails Denis Shapovalov (25) and Rafael Nadal (49), in that regard, but the chances are he will soon only trail Nadal, whom he cannot catch.

With his 20th birthday coming up in May, Alcaraz can substantially add to his ATP 1000 wins before leaving behind his teenage years. He will be looking to go further at Indian Wells and then rack up more victories in Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid.

He will turn 20 on May 5, during the Madrid tournament where he is the defending champion.

Reflecting on his time on tour so far, Alcaraz said: "A lot has happened since that first ATP win. I'm really proud of myself to have my 100th win on the tour, in like 132 matches.

"I saw I was the second player in history with less matches to be able to get to 100 wins. I'm really proud of myself about that."

Alcaraz has a win percentage of 70.6 at ATP 1000 events in his fledgling career. Only three players with 10 or more matches in ATP 1000 events as a teenager have a higher percentage of success: Andre Agassi (90.9 per cent), Rafael Nadal (84.5) and Jim Courier (72.7).

Standing in the way of Alcaraz making an immediate improvement to his record is another emerging young talent, the 21-year-old British player Jack Draper.

They will meet in round four at Indian Wells on Tuesday, with Draper having sunk the hopes of compatriot and three-time grand slam winner Andy Murray on Monday to reach that stage.

"I know he's a really good player," said Alcaraz, who won his one previous meeting with Draper, a tight three-setter in Switzerland last year.

"I mean, he's playing well. He has beaten great opponents like [Dan] Evans and Andy. I know that I'm going to have to play my best, give my 100 per cent on court. I played against him in Basle [and won] 7-5 in the third, I think. It's going to be a really tough match and I'm going to enjoy it."

World number two Carlos Alcaraz made it 10 wins from 11 matches in 2023 after defeating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in round three at the Indian Wells Open.

Alcaraz, 19, kicked off his 2023 campaign with eight wins in a row, including an Argentina Open title, before losing to Cameron Norrie in the Rio Open decider.

He has yet to drop a set at this fortnight's tournament in California, following up his opening win over Thanasi Kokkinakis with another strong showing against 31st seed Griekspoor.

The Spaniard will look to keep his strong form going when he meets Jack Draper in the fourth round, after 21-year-old Draper prevailed 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 in a battle of the Brits against Andy Murray.

Murray, who came into the match with six wins from his past seven outings, had an opportunity to take the match by the scruff of the neck but could not capitalise on a set point before going down in a tight tie-break, before Draper took charge.

California's own Taylor Fritz lived up to his fourth seeding, with the defending champion having little trouble in overcoming Argentina's Sebastian Baez 6-1 6-2, and he will play Hungary's Marton Fucsovics for a spot in the quarter-final.

Fucsovics, after upsetting 16th seed Alex De Minaur in the previous round, got the better of Slovakia's Alex Molcan 6-4 6-2.

Former world number three Stan Wawrinka showed he still has some gas in the tank after a surprise 6-2 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 triumph over world number eight Holger Rune, with the 37-year-old showing what he has learned through competing at the top level for as long as the 19-year-old Dane has been alive.

Jannik Sinner, the 13th seed, successfully navigated the challenge of veteran Adrian Mannarino for a 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 victory, Tommy Paul won his top-20 showdown against Hubert Hurkacz 4-6 6-2 6-4, and eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime knocked out Francisco Cerundolo 7-5 6-4.

Two of the Indian Wells Masters' top-three seeds have failed to reach the final 16 after Casper Ruud fell 6-4 7-6 (7-2) at the hands of Cristian Garin on Sunday.

Ruud, the third seed, joined second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas with an early exit after a timid display, with just 17 winners to go with 17 unforced errors against Chile's Garin.

Meanwhile, Garin took his opportunity against the world number four with both hands, rattling off 39 winners with 24 unforced errors as he made the decision to take the match on and not die wondering.

Garin, who already defeated 29th seed Yoshihito Nishioka in the second round, will meet his third seeded opponent in a row in the quarter-final when he takes on Spain's 23rd seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Davidovich Fokina eliminated 13th seed Karen Khachanov 6-3 1-6 6-4, but it was still a strong day for the Russians as top hopefuls Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev advanced.

Medvedev, the fifth seed, was tested in his 6-2 3-6 6-1 victory over Belarus' Ilya Ivashka, while sixth seed Rublev saw off France's Ugo Humbert 7-5 6-3 without much issue.

Waiting for Rublev in the quarter-final is Briton Cameron Norrie after his 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 6-2 battle against Taro Daniel, while Alexander Zverev beat Emil Ruusuvuori 7-5 1-6 7-5 to book a tantalising clash with Medvedev.

In a poor day for the Australians, Jason Kubler went down 6-3 6-2 against 14th seed Frances Tiafoe, and Jordan Thompson could not follow up his incredible upset against Tsitsipas, falling 6-3 7-6 (8-6) to Chile's Alejandro Tabilo.

Andy Murray pulled out another narrow win on Thursday as he collected an opening round 6-7 (5-7) 6-1 6-4 comeback against Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Indian Wells Masters.

It is the latest in a string of hard-fought wins for Murray, who has played the maximum number of sets in each of his past 10 victories dating back to the Gijon Open in October, including a pair of five-setters at the Australian Open.

Etcheverry started strong, fresh off his first ever ATP final at the Chile Open, but committed more unforced errors (21) than winners (17) in the second and third sets combined.

Fellow Great Britain representative Jack Draper was far more comfortable in his 6-1 6-1 demolition of Switzerland's Leandro Riedi, booking an all-English clash against Daniel Evans in the second round.

Former world number three Stan Wawrinka prevailed 6-4 1-6 6-1 against Aleksandar Vukic, but Vukic's Australian compatriot Thanasi Kokkanakis flew the flag with a 6-4 6-1 triumph over hometown talent Brandon Holt.

In a better result for the Americans, Mackenzie McDonald breezed past Filip Krajinovic 6-3 6-0 in just 63 minutes, and rising 20-year-old Ben Shelton had no problems in his 6-4 6-1 win over Fabio Fognini in 72 minutes.

Argentina's Guido Pella ground out 3-6 7-5 6-2 comeback in his South American clash against Brazil's Thiago Monteiro, and Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff did the same in his European showdown against France's Quentin Halys, taking it 1-6 6-3 6-3.

Former world number six Gael Monfils' return to the ATP Tour ended with a straight-sets first-round defeat to Jordan Thompson at the Indian Wells Open on Wednesday.

The 37-year-old Frenchman has not played competitively since August last year due to injury but was eliminated by Thompson 6-3 6-1 in one hour and five minutes.

The Australian was ruthless, converting four of six break points generated, while he did not offer up any to Monfils.

Monfils was rusty, committing 17 unforced errors to Thompson's five, but the veteran hit 14 winners.

Thompson's victory earns him a second-round meeting with second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Brandon Nakashima won the battle of the Americans, getting past John Isner 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 in one hour and 39 minutes. Nakashima progresses to face fifth seed Daniil Medvedev.

China's Wu Yibing produced some thrilling tennis, including an astonishing volley, in his 6-7 (6-8) 6-0 7-6 (7-3) victory over Jaume Munar.

World number 38 Diego Schwartzman won 6-1 6-2 over fellow Argentinian Federico Coria, while 47th-ranked Jiri Lehecka got past Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (7-4) 7-5.

Australia's Jason Kubler toppled Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in almost two hours, while 42nd-ranked Bernabe Zapata Miralles was beaten 6-2 7-6 (8-6) by Ugo Humbert.

Finland's Emil Ruusovuori triumphed with Constant Lestienne retiring down 6-4 4-1 and world number 46 Alexander Bublik was a shock casualty, going down 6-4 6-4 to Wu Ting-Lin.

Novak Djokovic's absence from the Indian Wells Open has caused a stir in US politics, and on the tennis court it is hugely significant, too.

Sport was given a jolt three years ago when Indian Wells organisers cancelled the event on the eve of action getting under way, citing one local case of COVID-19.

At that point, on March 8, 2020, there had been more than 500 confirmed cases across the United States, with 21 deaths. Soon enough, events across the globe were being postponed or scrubbed.

Coronavirus travel restrictions prevented the unvaccinated Djokovic from taking part last year, and they will keep him away again this time, despite calls from two Florida senators for the jab requirement to be lifted by President Biden to allow the Serbian into the country.

With the world number one sidelined, Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz look likely challengers for the men's title. There have been surprise champions in recent times, with Cameron Norrie winning in 2021 and Taylor Fritz carrying off the title 12 months ago, so it would be hasty to rule out something similar.

In the women's event, there has not been a successful title defence since Martina Navratilova won in 1990 and 1991. That can partly be attributed to Serena and Venus Williams boycotting for over a decade at the peak of their powers after complaining of facing racial abuse, and in their absence no player stepped up to dominate.

Iga Swiatek triumphed in Indian Wells and Miami last season, racking up the 'Sunshine Double', and she starts as a strong favourite again, but defeat in the recent Dubai final to Barbora Krejcikova showed the 21-year-old rankings leader will not have everything her way this season.

First-round action gets under way on Wednesday, after two days of qualifying, and here Stats Perform, with Opta data, looks at what lies ahead.

After Norrie and Fritz, could there be another shock men's winner?

Djokovic has won a joint-record five Indian Wells titles, but he last featured in 2019, when he lost to Philipp Kohlschreiber in round three.

Rafael Nadal is also absent this time with a hip injury, and with Roger Federer retired this will be the second Indian Wells main draw since 2000, after 2021, to feature none of the ATP Big Three.

The Big Three was a Big Four at one point, though, and Andy Murray will be competing. It is one of the two Masters 1000 tournaments Murray has never won, along with Monte Carlo, having triumphed at the other seven. Murray has the most match wins at Indian Wells among all men competing this time, having 28 to his name, two more than John Isner who sits next on the list.

No ATP player has a better win percentage at Indian Wells than Djokovic (84.7 per cent), who has won 50 of his 59 matches, while the now-retired Federer has appeared in the most finals (nine), also winning five times, so there is no doubt the field is missing its long-time classiest acts.

Fritz last year became the first men's champion aged under 25 years old since Djokovic in 2011, and he was also the first American to take the men's title since Andre Agassi beat Pete Sampras in the 2001 final.

Medvedev has won three consecutive tournaments in the lead-up this year, tearing to titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai, but the Russian has a disappointing record at Indian Wells, having yet to reach the quarter-finals in five visits.

Just four players this century, including Alcaraz last year, have reached the semi-final stage before turning 20, with Nadal, Djokovic and Murray the other three. Alcaraz is still only 19 but a shade older than Boris Becker when he was a 19-year-old champion in 1987, the youngest men's winner.

Who else might come through? It feels like a free-for-all and Felix Auger-Aliassime will be hoping for a breakthrough tournament, with the Canadian being the only member of the current ATP top 10 to have never reached a final at ATP 1000 level. It has to happen sooner rather than later, surely.

Swiatek bids to lift curse of women's champions

Ever since Navratilova's two in a row, being a back-to-back champion at Indian Wells has been beyond all singles players on the WTA side.

Indeed, the only players to reach the final the year after their title run have been Lindsay Davenport (champion 1997, runner-up 1998) and Ana Ivanovic (champion 2008, runner-up 2009).

Nine women have won twice at Indian Wells, but none have managed three or more titles. The nine are: Steffi Graf, Mary Joe Fernandez, Navratilova, Daniela Hantuchova, Serena Williams, Kim Clijsters, Victoria Azarenka, Davenport and Maria Sharapova.

A Swiatek victory would make it a club of 10, but there is a club of one when it comes to players who have captured two titles without dropping a set in either trophy run. Sharapova is the only player to pull off that feat, with her 2006 and 2013 glory runs.

Among all women, Davenport has reached the most finals (six) and won the most matches (47), with Azarenka having the most wins among active WTA players (34).

Navratilova remains the oldest champion, having won aged 34 in 1991, while Martina Hingis and Serena Williams won as 17-year-olds in 1998 and 1999.

Shocks can happen: Bianca Andreescu took the title as a wildcard in 2019, while Jenny Byrne reached the final as a qualifier in 1989, the first year the women's event was staged.

If there is to be a teenage women's finalist this time, maybe it will be Coco Gauff. The American turns 19 midway through the tournament, on March 13, and has yet to reach a WTA 1000 final, although she got to the French Open title match last year, where Swiatek inflicted a heavy defeat.

Perhaps Aryna Sabalenka can reprise her Australian Open form, having won a first major in Melbourne. But Sabalenka's record in Indian Wells is a rough one, with the Belarusian yet to go past the fourth round.

Strap in for a thrill ride. They all want to stop Swiatek, but if any player can defy history it might just be the Pole.

Novak Djokovic will not feature at the Indian Wells Open.

It was confirmed by tournament organisers on Sunday that the world number one would miss the first Masters 1000 tournament of the season.

As he is not vaccinated against COVID-19, Djokovic had applied for special permission to enter the United States, but that has seemingly been denied.

Until at least April 10, international visitors to the US must have proof of vaccination.

Djokovic, a five-time winner at Indian Wells, is also set to miss the Miami Open later in March, while his participation in the US Open could be in doubt.

The 22-time grand slam champion – who reached the semi-finals at the Dubai Tennis Championships last week – missed last year's major at Flushing Meadows due to his vaccination status. He was, however, allowed to play in this season's Australian Open.

Nikoloz Basilashvili moved into the main field following Djokovic's withdrawal.

Novak Djokovic was waiting on Saturday to learn whether he would get last-minute clearance to enter the United States to play at Indian Wells and Miami, as American tennis chiefs threw support behind the world number one.

US senator Rick Scott claimed Djokovic has been refused permission by the US Department of Homeland Security for a vaccine waiver and urged president Joe Biden to intervene on behalf of the Serbian and "fix this NOW".

Scott was backed by fellow senator Marco Rubio, who wrote on Twitter: "@DjokerNole [Djokovic] shouldn’t be prohibited from playing in the @MiamiOpen because of unconstitutional vaccine mandates.

"@POTUS [Biden] should immediately grant Djokovic a waiver to the vaccine mandate for international travellers."

Djokovic has refused to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and that stance has cost him places in two grand slam tournaments, being deported before last year's Australian Open and then denied permission to compete at the US Open later in the season.

It has also meant he has had to miss regular tour events in the United States, which demands international travellers are fully vaccinated.

Scott and Rubio are both senators for Florida, and accordingly their focus is on the Miami Open, which runs from March 22 to April 2.

More pressingly for the 35-year-old Djokovic, the Indian Wells tournament begins in the coming week, with main draw singles matches getting under way on Wednesday.

A statement posted on the US Open Twitter page confirmed support for the 22-time grand slam winner.

It read: "Novak Djokovic is one [of] the greatest champions our sport has ever seen.

"The USTA and US Open are hopeful that Novak is successful in his petition to enter the country, and that the fans will be able to see him back in action at Indian Wells and Miami."

Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Indian Wells Open as he continues his recovery from a hip injury.

Nadal sustained the injury during his straight-sets defeat to Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open in January, struggling to move around the court during the closing stages of the contest in Melbourne.

A day after that match, the Spaniard wrote on Twitter: "I have carried out medical tests after the defeat yesterday. The MRI shows a grade two lesion in the iliopsoas of the left leg. Now it's sports rest and anti-inflammatory physiotherapy. Normal recovery time six to eight weeks."

It seems that Indian Wells, the first ATP Masters 1000 event of the season, has come too soon for the 36-year-old, and it remains to be seen if he will be able to compete at the Miami Open later in March.

The tournament's director, Tommy Haas, said on Tuesday: "We wish Rafa continued healing, and hope to see him back at the BNP Paribas Open next year."

Nadal reached the final of last year's tournament at Indian Wells, where he lost to American Taylor Fritz. 

He has won three titles at Indian Wells, but the last came back in 2013.