Nick Kyrgios lined up to face Novak Djokovic at BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells

Posted by author March 4, 2025 Tennis

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For those conspiracy theorists who think tennis draws are rigged — even though they are definitely not — the BNP Paribas Open draw held Monday may give them some ammo.

The most interesting possible early-round matchup in Indian Wells came to fruition, as Nick Kyrgios who is in the field using his protected ranking, is lined up to face Novak Djokovic if Kyrgios beats a qualifier in the first round.

Kyrgios is one of the few players to have had success against Djokovic. They have played three times with Kyrgios winning twice, including a victory at the 2017 BNP Paribas Open.

Kyrgios and Djokovic have had an up-and-down relationship in recent years. In 2021, Kyrgios bad-mouthed Djokovic on social media, calling him a “tool” at one point. Djokovic responded by saying he respects Kyrgios the player but “Off the court, I don’t have much respect for him, to be honest.”

They then played each other in the 2022 Wimbledon final with Djokovic winning in four sets. In the ensuing years, Djokovic found a surprising ally in Kyrgios who felt like Djokovic was severely mistreated when it came to his vaccination stance and not being able to play in the Australian Open.

And just this December the two seemed to officially bury the hatchet by playing doubles together at the Brisbane International.

Now their paths may cross again as the BNP Paribas Open held the men’s draw on Monday. Djokovic is the No. 6 seed and has a first-round bye, but his second-round opponent will be Kyrgios if Kyrgios beats a qualifier in his opening-round match.

The hypothetical Djokovic-Kyrgios match will take place on Friday or Saturday. Both are in the same quarter of the draw with No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz.

The rest of the draw

The 96 players in the 2025 BNP Paribas Open, which consists of 79 automatic qualifiers, 12 qualifiers and five wild cards, were dropped into place Monday afternoon in a ceremony outside Stadium Court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Keep in mind, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is serving a suspension for using a banned substance and is not at this event.

Top seed Alexander Zverev and No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz were placed in opposite ends of the bracket and the rest filled in accordingly. No. 3 seed American Taylor Fritz is in the same half of the draw as Alcaraz, and No. 4 seed Casper Ruud is in Zverev’s half.

Matchups we’d like to see

Here are some potential matchups, other than the obvious Djokovic-Kyrgios clash, that the draw revealed that should be appetizing to tennis fans.

Learner Tien vs. Ben Shelton: While American fans wanted to see these two young studs both go far in this tournament, that’s not going to happen. Tien will play a first-round match against Mariano Navnoe of Argentina, and if he wins he will face Ben Shelton who is the No. 11 seed here. Both broke out at the Australian Open where Shelton made the semifinal and Tien joined the national conversation by upsetting Daniil Medvedev on the way to the fourth round.

Alex Michelsen vs. Daniil Medvedev: The young American moved into the realm of seeded players at this event as the No. 31 seed and is set up to face No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev in what would be an attractive third-round matchup. Medvedev has made the last two finals here, Michelsen will have the crowd firmly on his side.

Denis Shapovalov vs. Carlos Alcaraz: Shapovalov has shaken out of a long slumber and played some excellent tennis in recent months including an impressive win in Dallas where he beat Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Casper Ruud. And Alcaraz is Alcaraz. He’s trying to become the third person to three-peat here along with Roger Federer and Djokovic. Shapovalov is the No. 27 seed and Alcaraz No. 3.

Cam Norrie vs. Luca Nardi: This is a matchup of players whose greatest tennis moments have come at the BNP Paribas Open. Norrie was the champion of the 2021 BNP Paribas Open held in October. And Nardi famously shocked the world last year when he defeated Novak Djokovic in a third-round stunner. They face each other in the first round. Should be fun to see who wins the “BNP famous” battle. The winner will face No. 23 seed Jiri Lehecka in the second round.