Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz is the hot favorite to complete a rare Indian Wells three-peat while Poland¡¯s Iga Swiatek will look to become the only woman to win the tournament three times when the main draw gets underway on Wednesday in the California desert.

With world No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a doping suspension, Alcaraz has one fewer obstacle as he bids to join greats Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer as the only players to prevail three consecutive times in ¡°Tennis Paradise.¡±

The 21-year-old Alcaraz beat Daniil Medvedev in his last two Indian Wells finals and despite falling to Djokovic in the quarterfinals of January¡¯s Australian Open, he has enjoyed a strong start to the year with an 11-2 win/loss record.