The American ATP player being tipped to ‘thrive’ at Indian Wells as the conditions could really suit him

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The tennis world is getting ready for the Indian Wells Masters, one of the most popular tournaments of the year.

With their pristine facilities, breathtaking views and beautiful hot sunshine, this is a favourite event for many of the players.

Fans will flock through the gates keen to see some pulsating action from the world’s best players as they battle it out for the title.

The American players will be looking to impress at their home tournament of Indian Wells, which had a brand new surface laid before this year’s event.

Tennis pundit says Ben Shelton can ‘thrive’ at Indian Wells Masters

While the WTA Tour are preparing for their third event of the season worth 1000 points, the Indian Wells Masters is the first ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year.

There are several players in contention for the title, but one of those who will be absent is Jannik Sinner, who is serving a three-month doping suspension.

But while previewing the tournament, UK tennis presenter Marcus Buckland thinks Ben Shelton will benefit from the Indian Wells conditions and can have a strong run at a tournament where he has just three wins and two defeats.

The 22-year-old is searching for his first title of 2025 and aims to rediscover the form that took him to the Australian Open semi-finals after early losses to Jaume Munar and David Goffin in Dallas and Mexico respectively.

“It would be great to see one of the Americans going deep as well,” Buckland told Tennis365. “They have six players in the seeded positions right now and Taylor Fritz is the player who could go well here.

“He won Indian Wells a couple of years back, but the question is over where he is with his fitness. Another one to look out for is Ben Shelton as he should thrive in these conditions with his big serve and the American crowd behind him.”

Carlos Alcaraz named as the favourite for the Indian Wells title

The man to beat at Indian Wells is Carlos Alcaraz, who is the two-time defending champion.

He is aiming to become the third player after Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to win the title in the Californian desert three consecutive years.

Alcaraz is entering Indian Wells following a defeat to Jiri Lehecka in the Qatar Open quarter-finals. But the Spaniard tends to find his best tennis at Indian Wells and he has been tipped as the favourite by Buckland.

“Alcaraz is the defending champion, he’s going for the three-peat. Only Federer and Djokovic have managed that in the history of this tournament, so it’s not going to be easy,” he added.

“He doesn’t quite have that aura at the moment that he built up at the start of his career, as he has been a little more inconsistent of late, but I would have him as my favourite.”