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Reuters

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Reuters

We are stepping into an action-packed month of March in tennis. With the ‘Sunshine Double’ to follow, fans will witness the top players in action across these two tournaments. Further, the playing field for the first Masters tournament of the month, the BNP Paribas Open, has been released, which includes the former World Number 1 Andy Murray, and the former Australian Open champion, Sofia Kenin.

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Fan favorites Andy Murray and Sofia Kenin receive wild cards for Indian Wells Masters 1000

The tournament organizers announced that Murray and Kenin have received wild-card entries to participate at the tournament this year. They failed to receive a direct entry into the main draw on account of the fall in their rankings. While the Briton is ranked 84th on the ATP ranking charts, Sofia Kenin has dropped to Number 89 in the WTA rankings.

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Further, Andy Murray hasn’t had the greatest of the results playing in Indian Wells. It is only one of the two Masters tournaments that the Briton has failed to win, the other being Monte-Carlo Masters. He has reached the finals once in 13 attempts in Indian Wells. He had lost out to Rafael Nadal in the summit clash in 2009.

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On the other hand, Sofia Kenin had a nightmare 2021 season. She missed the latter half of the previous season due to a foot injury and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19. Additionally, she didn’t play at the Indian Wells Masters last season.

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How have the two players fared this season?

Murray and Kenin are on the road to making a comeback after having a disappointing 2021 season. The Briton reached the finals in Sydney, which remains his best finish to date this year. He crashed out in the second round of the Australian Open 2022, losing to the Japanese Taro Daniel in straight sets.

Meanwhile, Kenin has had a disappointing start to the 2022 season. She exited in the opening round at the Australian Open, losing to fellow American Madison Keys. Subsequently, the drop in form continued as she made first-round exits in Dubai and Qatar.

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Can the two players turn their fortunes around in the coming tournaments? Let us know your views in the comments below.

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Vatsal Shah

3,705 Articles

Vatsal Shah is a tennis journalist at EssentiallySports, covering ATP and WTA storylines from the ES Trends Desk since 2023. He delivers breaking insights on major tournaments and player arcs, decoding tactical shifts and viral moments into accessible takeaways for fans worldwide. His coverage of Taylor Townsend’s Dubai title win stood out for capturing both the emotional significance of her victory and the context of her comeback.

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