The first Masters Series event of the season is already underway at the Pan Pacific Life Open at Indian Wells, California. A field of 96 players means action has begun slightly earlier than most other Masters Series events which start and finish in the space of seven days. The seeds are in action today, and so we take a look at what the draw has produced and may have in store for us over the coming days.

The one-man quarter
It may be boring and predictable but there is no denying who is most likely to come through the first quarter of the draw and then the top half of the draw and be the eventual winner. You've guessed it. Roger Federer. The world number one is in pursuit of another record – the longest win streak. Currently, Federer stands at 41 consecutive wins and if he defends the title will surpass the record of 46 held by Guillermo Vilas. The first opponent Federer is likely to face is Guillermo Cañas. The Argentine work horse is in the midst of another “comeback” player of the year phase, having returned to the tour late last season after his unjustified suspension had been reduced. Cañas has elevated his ranking to 60 and it seems just a matter of time before he is knocking on the door of the top 20. The last meeting between the two was at the semi-final stage of Indian Wells in 2005 where Federer won in straight sets.

Further down the line, a familiar foe may face Federer in the form of Lleyton Hewitt. The current and former world number one’s have met on 18 occasions with Federer leading the head to head, 11-7. The quarter-final from the first quarter could see a repeat of last year’s final between Federer and James Blake. The American has recently been caught up in the controversy surrounding the round-robin fiasco in Las Vegas and with Federer in his quarter he will find it very difficult to defend the points he won in the tournament last year.

Other players who will be hoping to make some noise from this section include David Ferrer, Novak Djokovic and another player caught up in the mess in Las Vegas, Evgeny Korolev.
The “final” four quarter
Given the run Federer has had, there is not much hope that whoever comes through this quarter will be able to advance beyond the semi-final. In effect, the players in this section are at best playing for a final four spot. Hopefully, that is not the attitude any of these players will take into a prospective semi-final, but for the neutral observer, that’s the way it looks likely to play out.

This section is loaded with some quality players and any number could find their way through. Nikolay Davydenko is a model of consistency and Marat Safin is always capable of beating any opponent, including himself. Andy Murray, under the guidance of Brad Gilbert is improving weak areas of his game (like fitness) all the time, and is also a threat to come through. Tommy Haas has been playing exceptional tennis in his past couple of tournaments in Memphis and Dubai. And then there is Fernando Gonzalez, who reached the final of the Australian Open earlier this year and is playing his first tournament since the disappointment of being unable to carry Chile past Russia in the Davis Cup.

This should be an entertaining quarter, with possible match ups including Safin v. Murray and a repeat of the Australian Open semi-final between Haas and Gonzalez. On current form such an encounter is unlikely to be as one-sided as it was in Melbourne in Gonzalez’s favour.