INDIAN WELLS (AFP) — Former champion Carlos Alcaraz aims to extend his perfect start to 2026 at Indian Wells while Jannik Sinner returns to the California desert seeking to fill a gap in his resume with his first title of the year.

The world’s top two players headline a stellar men’s field for the ATP and WTA Masters 1000 tournament, where Serbian superstar Novak Djokovic is chasing a record sixth title, which would see him break out of a tie with Swiss great Roger Federer for the most in tournament history.

Spain’s Alcaraz, 22, made history last month when he lifted the Australian Open title to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.

He won the Qatar Open to arrive Stateside riding a 12-match winning streak to start the year.

The top seed could face a tricky second-round opener against either former world number three Grigor Dimitrov or in-form left-hander Terence Atmane, with third-seeded Djokovic also looming in his half of the draw.

Sinner will play Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina, who beat Australian James Duckworth 6-2, 6-4 as first-round action got underway on Wednesday.

Italy’s Matteo Berrettini booked a second-round meeting with fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev, beating France’s Adrian Mannarino 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.

Sinner missed Indian Wells last year, serving a suspension for a positive test for banned anabolic steroid clostebol. He returned from that ban to win Wimbledon and the ATP Finals, but fell to Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals and lost to Jakob Mensik in the quarters at Doha last month.

Although he professed himself satisfied with his season so far, Sinner said Tuesday he was trying to maximize his potential.

“It has been a very hard practice week here for me,” he said.

“We spent many, many hours of practice.”

“(I’m) very happy with how I’m feeling on the court in the same time, we also try to improve a couple of things.”

“I’m trying to be slightly more aggressive at times on the baseline, and then we see how it goes,” added the Italian, who has won all of the other five Masters 1000 hard court tournaments, starting with Toronto in 2023 and adding Miami, Cincinnati, and Shanghai in 2024 and Paris last year.

Women’s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is also chasing a first Indian Wells title, having fallen in last year’s final to Russian teen Mirra Andreeva and in 2023 to Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina — who beat Sabalenka in the Australian Open final to claim a second Grand Slam crown.

Sabalenka, back in action for the first time since that Australian Open disappointment, will open her campaign against Japanese qualifier Himeno Sakatsume, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over US wild card Alycia Parks, with Japanese star Naomi Osaka and hard-hitting American Amanda Anisimova in her quarter.

Third-seeded Rybakina says the desert conditions can pose unique challenges, with big differences between day and night matches and slower courts making for longer rallies.

“It’s not easy to get these short points, free points. You need to work for each point,” said Rybakina, who is in the same half of the draw as second-seeded Iga Swiatek, the Indian Wells winner in 2022 and 2024.

Swiatek says the conditions suit her game, but she has a tough draw that includes a potential quarter-final clash with Andreeva, who upset her in the semifinals here last year.