Andy Murray has been placed on course for a rematch with Novak Djokovic at the first Masters event of the season in Indian Wells.
The British number one has not played since losing in four sets to Djokovic in the Australian Open final in January and Tuesday’s draw put the pair in the same half of the draw for the BNP Paribas Open, meaning they could meet in the semi-finals.
Third seed Murray will return to the world number two spot for the first time since 2009 if he wins the title in California.
He will open his campaign against either Evgeny Donskoy or Tatsuma Ito. The Scot, who has a poor record in Indian Wells, is then seeded to meet Martin Klizan and Kei Nishikori before a quarter-final meeting with Juan Martin Del Potro.
Then would likely come Djokovic in the semis. The Serb opens against Fabio Fognini or Aljaz Bedene but could have to defeat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight.
Second seed Roger Federer, the defending champion, is the man most likely to come through the opposite half of the draw.
Federer, however, faces a possible blockbuster of a quarter-final against the returning Rafael Nadal.
Seeded only fifth due to a ranking slip caused by a seven-month injury lay-off, Nadal will be playing his first tournament on a hardcourt for almost a year.
He will open his campaign against Go Soeda or Ryan Harrison.
Federer, meanwhile, starts against Denis Istomin or a qualifier.
The winner of any Federer-Nadal quarter-final is seeded to meet David Ferrer in the last four. However, the recent Dubai finalist Tomas Berdych is also in Ferrer’s quarter.
The men’s tournament gets under way on Thursday, a day after the women’s action starts.
