Djokovic, Alcaraz on collision course in Indian Wells draw

Carlos Alcaraz could run into Novak Djokovic in the quarter-final stage in his quest for a rare Indian Wells "three-peat," while defending women's champion Iga Swiatek also faces a tough test, according to the event’s draw

Djokovic beat the Spaniard to reach the Australian Open semi-final in January and is hoping he can become only the third man to claim 100 career singles titles when the main draw of the tournament kicks off on Wednesday in the California desert.

The Serb, who got a first-round bye, will hope to have put recent injury concerns behind him as he kicks off his campaign at the 1000-level event against a qualifier or Australian firebrand Nick Kyrgios.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic looks dejected after losing his round of 32 match against Italy's Matteo Berrettini Reuters

The men's draw could also see German top seed Alexander Zverev play against rival Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in a potential quarter-final meeting, while 2022 champion and home hope Taylor Fritz may run into Russian Andrey Rublev in the final eight.

On the women's side, Polish second seed Swiatek was on a quarter-final collision course with Zheng Qinwen months after the Chinese seventh seed knocked her out in the Olympic semi-final.

Top seeded Aryna Sabalenka will hope to bounce back after a pair of early exits from Doha and Dubai last month with Italian Jasmine Paolini potentially standing between her and the semi-final stage.

A tantalizing all-American quarter-final clash could be in the cards after 2023 U.S. Open winner Coco Gauff and newly minted Australian Open champion Madison Keys were pulled into the same half of the draw.

Each hope to end an American women's Indian Wells trophy drought, with 24 years since Serena Williams last won.

Pegula flies Austin finalists to Indian Wells in private jet

Meanwhile, the finalists of the ATX Open in Austin were spared a grueling late-night trip to Indian Wells following Sunday's action after American Jessica Pegula flew them to the tournament in the Californian desert in her private jet.

Pegula, whose billionaire parents own Buffalo's NFL and NHL franchises, won the singles title in Austin defeating compatriot McCartney Kessler 7-5 6-2 but hung around as Kessler and Zhang Shuai lost to Yuan Yue and Anna Blinkova in the doubles final.

With the players then facing a quick turnaround ahead of the Indian Wells main draw beginning on Wednesday, Pegula offered to fly all of them to California for the WTA 1000 tournament.

Zhang thanked Pegula for her generosity on Instagram, adding that they would otherwise have faced a late night layover in Los Angeles or trips to nearby airports in Dallas and Houston.

"You know she can leave away right after her singles final, but she is such a selfless and generous girl," Zhang wrote.

"This message is NOT to show I took the jet, just wanted to appreciate and transferring the love."

Blinkova also shared Zhang's story on Instagram and thanked world number four Pegula, who has amassed more than $17 million in prize money in her career.

China's Yue also expressed gratitude to U.S. Open runner-up Pegula on social media for the luxurious ride.

"Otherwise, we would all have been on the road for at least nine hours," she added.