Indian Wells 2011: Editors' Picks

The editors of TENNIS magazine and TENNIS.com predict this year's Indian Wells champions and give their dark horse picks.

Champions:

Peter Bodo Senior Editor	Caroline Wozniacki: Wozniacki, simply because I'm sticking with this world No. 1 until she gets that monkey (and a fair portion of the public and punditocracy) off her back for earning the top ranking without winning a Grand Slam event. Call it my personal vigil.	Novak Djokovic: I'm going with Djokovic, who seems to be on the upswing and is as aware as you or I that the duopoly of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal must be broken up at some point. With the Australian Open title already under his belt, a good performance in these first two Masters 1000 events of the year will position Djokovic nicely to really challenge at the summer majors.
Steve Tignor Senior Editor	Svetlana Kuznetsova: The Russian hasn't won big yet, but she came into 2011 seemingly rejuvenated. At some point, her power and athleticism should override everything else.	Rafael Nadal: He looked fresh again last weekend in Davis Cup, he's won this tournament twice, and he still owns three of the last four majors.
Richard Pagliaro Senior Editor	Kim Clijsters: Clijsters lives in Belgium, but she?s always at home on American hard courts. The Aussie Open champ has reached the Indian Wells final in three of her last six appearances in the desert, taking the title in 2003 and 2005. Clijsters has reached three finals in three tournament starts and can regain the top spot if she goes a round further than Wozniacki.	Rafael Nadal: Though this is his first tournament since hobbling out of Oz, Nadal has a successful track record at Indian Wells (two-time singles champ, 20-2 in his last 22 matches and won the 2010 doubles title) and often bursts out of the blocks quickly after layoffs.
Ed McGrogan Online Editor	Caroline Wozniacki: She's reached the semifinals or better in nine of her last 10 tournaments, and she's in the weaker half of the draw. The similarly-surging Vera Zvonareva or Clijsters should be her final test.	Novak Djokovic: His decision to eschew Serbia's first-round Davis Cup tie should pay off in Palm Springs. Djokovic is fresh, confident and motivated?good for him, bad for everyone else.

Dark Horses:

Peter Bodo Senior Editor	Svetlana Kuznetsova: If you think I'm picking Victoria Azarenka again, you're nuts. I'm sick of getting hosed by that diva. So let's try Kuznetsova.	Milos Raonic: Heck, why not? The 20-year old Canadian has played like a house on fire so far this year, and while the court at Indian Wells is a little bit slower than the indoor courts where he's done so much damage this year, the air in the desert is pretty thin and the tournament has a history of rewarding the big servers (see "L" for Ljubicic).
Steve Tignor Senior Editor	Maria Sharapova: She's won here before and there were signs of life in Melbourne?we'll see where her serve takes her.	Fernando Verdasco: He's played some good tennis this year and should be at home on these courts.
Richard Pagliaro Senior Editor	Petra Kvitova: Kvitova carries a 16-2 record into Indian Wells and is one of only two women to beat Clijsters this year. If she's landing her lefty swing serve in the ad court, the No. 12 seed is a threat to go deep in the draw.	Andy Murray: If the No. 5 seed can conquer the crankiness that can plague him under pressure and compete with conviction, he can beat anyone in the world on a hard court. Murray excels in Masters events: Four of his last six titles are Masters 1000 championships.
Ed McGrogan Online Editor	Nadia Petrova: In a quarter with no obvious favorite, Petrova puts herself in the conversation with groundstrokes that, on the right day, can overwhelm anyone. Whether such days will coincide with Indian Wells is anyone's guess.	Marin Cilic: The somewhat-forgotten Croatian finds himself in a quarter loaded with question marks, including Federer. If he can handle the heat?and bring it with his shots?I could see a deep run.

Source: http://feeds.tennis.com/~r/tenniscom-features/~3/Z1jGwvpoPWU/

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