Wozniacki Faces Tough Task to Repeat

Defending BNP Paribas Open champion will face a tough task just to make her third final at Indian Wells.

Wozniacki, who lost her No. 1 ranking after the Australian Open, has not played well this year with a 7-4 record in four tournaments. If the seeds hold, the Dane would have to go through two former winners, Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova.

Most recently, Wozniacki dropped an exhibition to Sharapova in Madison Square Garden in straight sets.

The likely tournament favorite when action begins is World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka. 

Azarenka's start to the season has been just as impressive as Novak Djokovic's start last year leading up to Indian Wells. 

In route to the No. 1 ranking, Azarenka has been perfect, 17-0, collecting three titles. During action in Doha, the first tournament she played as World No. 1, Azarenka lost 18 games in five matches. That's the fewest games anyone has lost en route to a WTA title.

Though Azarenka has not made it past the semifinals in Indian Wells, a win would put a stamp that she's the player to beat.

Christina McHale, ranked 32, is probably the best chance for an American to make a deep run. Her likely third round opponent is No. 3 Petra Kvitova.