Carlos Alcaraz is the overwhelming favorite to win Indian Wells this year, according to readers of the Tennis Gazette.
Indian Wells is now underway in California, with Alcaraz among a star-studded field of ATP players vying for the title.
The top seed is joined by his fierce rival Jannik Sinner, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, and defending champion Jack Draper, among others.
All four players are involved in a poll on TalkingPoints, which tasked Tennis Gazette readers with picking who they think will lift the trophy.
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Carlos Alcaraz backed to win Indian Wells by Tennis Gazette readers
After almost 800 votes, 53.77% of Tennis Gazette readers have predicted Alcaraz to win his third Indian Wells title.
Chasing his maiden title in California, Sinner is second with 21.97% of the vote, followed by 11.49% for five-time champion Djokovic.
Draper, Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime come in around the 2% mark, while 5.62% of readers believe another name entirely will clinch the title.
That could involve star names such as Alex de Minaur, Daniil Medvedev, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz and Alexander Bublik.
Stefanos Tsitsipas among early Indian Wells upsets
It has certainly been an intriguing start to this year’s tournament at Indian Wells, where the big names don’t get going until round two.
Seeded players Alcaraz, Sinner and Djokovic all received byes in round one, but many other high-profile names started in the first round.
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That included two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, who suffered an early exit at the hands of Denis Shapovalov.
Former US Open champion Marin Cilic also bowed out in round one, losing to Zachary Svajda at Tennis Paradise in California.
| Round | Points | Prize money |
| Winner | 1,000 | $1,151,380 |
| Final | 650 | $612,340 |
| Semifinals | 400 | $340,190 |
| Quarterfinals | 200 | $193,645 |
| Round 16 | 100 | $105,720 |
| Round 32 | 50 | $61,865 |
| Round 64 | 25 | $36,110 |
| R96 | 10 | $24,335 |
| Qualifier | 20 | $0 |
| Qualifier 3 | 0 | $0 |
| Qualifier 2 | 10 | $14,130 |
| Qualifier 1 | 0 | $7,330 |
But there were no such issues for fan favorites Joao Fonseca and Gael Monfils, currently at opposing ends of their careers.
They defeated Raphael Collignon and Alexis Galarneau respectively, with the likes of Matteo Berrettini and Reilly Opelka having also secured safe passage into round two.
Meanwhile on the WTA Tour, many American women suffered Indian Wells exits early on, as did former champion Paula Badosa.
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