![\"Novak](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/novak-iw-2026-preview.jpg\")
<\/p>\n Match Preview
\n Djokovic’s 2026 start: ‘I’ve proven to myself & others, why not keep going?’<\/p>\n
Serbian has won Indian Wells trophy five times<\/p>\n
March 05, 2026<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
ATP Tour<\/p>\n
Novak Djokovic will face Kamil Majchrzak or Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his Indian Wells opening match.
\n By ATP Staff<\/p>\n
Novak Djokovic<\/a> arrives at the BNP Paribas Open<\/a> ready to compete for the first time since his run to the Australian Open<\/a> final. The Serbian\u2019s fortnight Down Under reaffirmed his belief that he remains a force on the sport\u2019s biggest stages, and against his younger rivals Jannik Sinner<\/a> and Carlos Alcaraz<\/a>.<\/p>\n In Melbourne, Djokovic dispatched two-time defending champion Sinner in five sets before falling to World No. 1 Alcaraz in the championship match. The 38-year-old could rematch Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semi-finals should the seeds hold.<\/p>\n \n\u201cThat was an amazing start of the year for me,\u201d Djokovic said during his pre-tournament press conference. \u201cConsidering that I haven’t been able to reach [a major final] since Wimbledon<\/a> 2024, and lost to either Sinner or Alcaraz at all of the Slams last year, it was just an incredible feeling to be able to beat Sinner in five sets in one of the [most] epic matches that I played in recent times in Australia. And then, having another great match with Carlos, who was just too good in the end.<\/p>\n “For me, that has been a phenomenal result. I have proven to myself primarily, and to others, that I can still compete at the highest level and beat these guys. So my logic is why not keep going as long as I have that fire and flair and quality and also motivation to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n \nMaking his 17th appearance in Indian Wells, the five-time champion Djokovic is aiming to break his tie with Roger Federer<\/a> for most titles in tournament history. <\/p>\n \n\u201cI have had a fair amount of success in this tournament,\u201d said Djokovic, who boasts a 51-11 tournament record, according to the Infosys ATP Win\/Loss Index. \u201cIt has always been one of my favourite tournaments to visit. With the great weather, facilities, location and proximity to L.A. \u2014 one of the best cities to visit \u2014 and the history of the event. It\u2019s really a Tennis Paradise here, so rightfully named that way.\u201d<\/p>\n \nDjokovic, seeded third, will begin his tournament against Pole Kamil Majchrzak<\/a> or hefty-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard<\/a>. The winner of 101 tour-level titles and record holder of 428 weeks spent as World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Djokovic is excited for another opportunity.<\/p>\n \n\u201cI really enjoy the thrill of competition. I enjoy still getting out there in front of the fans and really being competitive,\u201d Djokovic said. \u201cStill No. 3 of the world, so I don’t think it’s too bad, in terms of the ranking and results and performances. I still have that edge and I’ll keep on going as long as I feel like it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Match Preview Djokovic’s 2026 start: ‘I’ve proven to myself & others, why not keep going?’ Serbian has won…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,82,593],"class_list":["post-515350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=515350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\u201cATP\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/atp-no-1-club-banner-article.jpg\")
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