Murray Return For Indian Wells Action

Andy Murray will return to action at Indian Wells this weekend with the world number two ranking in his sights.? The Briton could overtake Roger Federer in the rankings if he reaches the final and the Swiss falls before the semis.

Third seed Murray has a bye in round one and opens against EvgenyDonskoy or Tatsuma Ito on Saturday or Sunday.?
The BNP Paribas Open will see Murray, Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal at the same tournament for the first time since Wimbledon last summer.

Nadal was out for seven months with a serious knee injury before returning to action on clay in Latin America last month, and Indian Wells will be the first test of his knee on the more punishing hard courts.

The Spaniard will play Ryan Harrison or Go Soeda in his first match and, having slipped to fifth in the rankings, could face Federer as early as the quarter-finals.

World number one Djokovic has made a 13-0 unbeaten start to the season in tour matches and opens against Fabio Fognini or AljazBedene in Indian Wells, with Murray a potential semi-final opponent.

The Scot will be playing for the first time since losing to Djokovic in the Australian Open final in January.

Fellow Britons Heather Watson and Laura Robson are in the women’s draw, with Watson up against Romanian Irina Camelia-Begu in round one and Robson taking on Sofia Arvidsson of Sweden.

Victoria Azarenka is the top seed in the absence of Serena Williams, and the Belarusian could face Slovakia’s Daniela Hantuchova in the second round.