Novak Djokovic is a confident champion, a winner of 32 ATP Masters 1000 titles, including a record five BNP Paribas Opens. But even the Serbian didn’t predict his historic 2018 comeback that reached a low point here in Indian Wells 12 months ago.

Djokovic underwent surgery on his right elbow in early February. He arrived at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden anxious to play, despite his team telling him to rest. He then proceeded to endure one of his worst losses, by ATP ranking, in the past eight years: a 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-1 defeat to then-No. 109 Taro Daniel.

“I definitely wasn’t ready to compete at this level last year. I was kind of convincing myself that I was, but I truly wasn’t. I know most of my team members at the time were against me playing in Indian Wells and Miami because it was too early after the surgery,” Djokovic said on Thursday during his pre-tournament press conference.

But what happened next didn’t surprise him. He rehabbed his elbow and recovered his game, winning two ATP Masters 1000 titles (Cincinnati and Shanghai) and two Grand Slams (Wimbledon, US Open) and becoming the first player to achieve the Career Golden Masters. His season-low ranking of No. 22 is the lowest any player has been ranked in the same season they finished year-end No. 1.

“It was quite a journey in the last 12 months,” Djokovic said. “I don’t regret [playing in Indian Wells and Miami]. I think maybe from this perspective, I could have, should have made a different decision, but I believe it also taught me some valuable lessons that helped me to create amazing results in the next seven, eight months and get from 22 in the world to No. 1 in the world in less than six months.

“I did go through doubtful moments and questioning everything and experiencing a surgery for the first time in my life was something that I’ve never experienced before. I didn’t know what to expect. I just had to acquaint myself with the new sensations, mental, physical, emotional, and it was all a great learning curve for me.”

The learning phase, however, ended months ago, and Djokovic heads to Indian Wells in search of more ATP Tour history. He and Roger Federer share the record for most titles at the season’s first Masters 1000 event (five).

Watch: Djokovic Prepares For Indian Wells With Practice Session With Wawrinka

The Serbian will be playing for the first time since winning his 15^th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on 27 January. He faces the winner of American Bjorn Fratangelo and Elias Ymer of Sweden.

In the third round, Djokovic could meet the winner of Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber and Aussie Nick Kyrgios, last week’s Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC champion.

Kyrgios beat No. 2 Rafael Nadal, former No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, No. 9 John Isner and No. 3 Alexander Zverev for his biggest title since October 2016. Djokovic is 0-2 against Kyrgios in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, including a straight-sets loss in Indian Wells two years ago.

“We’ve always been aware of his qualities and talent, and he’s got big weapons in his game: serve, obviously one of the best serves on the Tour; big forehand and can play well on different surfaces. It’s just whether he’s consistent or not, so that’s what we’re going to see,” Djokovic said.

“I lost to him both times that I played against him. If I get a chance to play against him… I’ll look forward to that because he’s in-form. On the other hand, I started the season very well. I hope I can restart here where I stopped in Australia.”

Chris Kermode’s tenure as ATP Executive Chairman & President will not extend beyond his current term which expires at the end 2019, the ATP announced on Thursday.

Kermode became ATP Executive Chairman & President at the beginning of 2014. His six-year tenure at the helm of the ATP has seen record prize money and commercial growth for the organisation, while attendance and viewership of the ATP Tour has soared.

Kermode’s vision and leadership since 2014 has been instrumental in the creation of landmark new ATP events such as the award-winning Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, as well as the upcoming ATP Cup in 2020 in partnership with Tennis Australia.  He has overseen the remarkable success of the Nitto ATP Finals in London since 2009 and has also played a critical role in forging some of the biggest sponsorships in the sport, such as the ATP Premier Partnership with Emirates since 2015.

“It’s been a privilege to serve as ATP Executive Chairman & President since 2014 and I’m very proud of what we have achieved during this time. I would like to thank everyone at the ATP, and all the players and tournaments for the support over the years. I remain fully dedicated to the role for the remainder of my term and wish the organisation every success in the future.”

1. 30 Years of ATP Masters 1000s: The 2019 BNP Paribas Open ushers in the 30th year of ATP Masters 1000 tennis. Indian Wells is the first of nine elite events each year that unite the top players in the ATP Rankings. It is also one of seven ATP Masters 1000 events that have been part of the series since its start in 1990. The other originals are Miami, Monte-Carlo, Rome, Canada, Cincinnati and Paris.

2. Back at his Best: Last year in Indian Wells, Novak Djokovic lost his opener to 109th-ranked qualifier Taro Daniel. What a different a year makes. Djokovic returns as the World No. 1 and champion of the past three Grand Slam tournaments and two of the last three ATP Masters 1000 events. Djokovic has not played since winning his seventh Australian Open title on 27 January.

View ATP Tour Media Notes For Indian Wells

3. Roger’s Records: Djokovic and Roger Federer are tied for the most BNP Paribas Open titles with five. Federer held three championship points to make it six before losing to Juan Martin del Potro in 2018. Recent memories are fonder for the Swiss, who on 2 March won his 100th tour-level title of his career at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Federer has defeated 50 different opponents for his 100 titles – 25 of whom are now retired.

4. Semi-Fedal: Rafael Nadal is also a five-time BNP Paribas Open champion with three singles and two doubles titles. Nadal and Federer are playing at the same ATP Tour event for the first time since the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals. Federer is on a five-match win streak against Nadal, including a 6-2, 6-3 victory at 2017 Indian Wells. The living legends could meet in the semi-finals on 16 March.

5. Historic Start: Stefanos Tsitsipas is 15-5 to begin the 2019 season, highlighted by a win over Federer en route to the Australian Open semi-finals and his second ATP Tour title at the Open 13 Provence (d. Kukushkin). Tsitsipas, 20, became the youngest Grand Slam semi-finalist since Djokovic, 20, at the 2007 US Open. Though he fell to Federer in the Dubai final, Tsitsipas became the first Greek to break into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings on 4 March.

6. Best of Next: Three #NextGenATP players are seeded in Indian Wells: No. 9 Tsitsipas, No. 23 Alex de Minaur and No. 24 Denis Shapovalov. All three youngsters won their BNP Paribas Open main draw debut in 2018. Australian Open quarter-finalist Frances Tiafoe is also in the field.

7. Nick of Time: Nick Kyrgios went 10-10 in his past 20 matches entering the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC last week, where he saved three match points against Nadal and earned three Top-10 wins for the Acapulco title. Kyrgios could meet Djokovic in the third round after beating him in Acapulco and Indian Wells two years ago.

8. On the Rise: Like Kyrgios and Tsitsipas, Gael Monfils is in good form as he seeks his first ATP Masters 1000 title. Monfils is 11-2 since 5 February, highlighted by the second ATP 500 title of his career at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. The 32-year-old Frenchman also reached semi-finals at the Sofia Open and Dubai.

9. Wild Cards: Rio de Janeiro champion Laslo Djere and runner-up Felix Auger-Aliassime earned wild cards. Djere beat the #NextGenATP player Auger-Aliassime again at the Brasil Open in Sao Paulo on 1 March. He is seeded 30th and ranked a career-high 32nd, while Auger-Aliassime is a career-high 58th.

10. Doubles Debuts: The Indian Wells doubles field features eight year-end Top 10 teams and seven duos making their debut. Djokovic and Fabio Fognini are among the first-time teams and will face fellow debutants Jeremy Chardy and Milos Raonic in the opening round. Tsitsipas is also doing double duty, joining forces for the first time with 46th-ranked doubles specialist Wesley Koolhof.

After being forced to miss last year’s BNP Paribas Open with a right hip injury, Rafael Nadal is raring to go this year in Indian Wells.

The Spaniard is the second seed and will open his campaign against American wild card Jared Donaldson or Japanese qualifier Tatsuma Ito. Nadal said his second-round exit last week to Nick Kyrgios at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC is already off his mind and that he’s pleased with how his body has held up to start the season.

“I would have loved to win the Australian Open and Acapulco…but these things happen,” said Nadal. “I should not be unhappy after all I went through over the past four or five months.”

Nadal returned to action in January after sitting out four months with injuries to his abdomen, right knee and right ankle. Given his injury woes, he’s happy to simply be healthy and competing again.

“There are too many issues that have happened to my body over the past year-and-a-half, but I’ve managed it well to still be competitive and still be fighting for the most important events,” said Nadal. “This is an important part of the season for me…[so] that’s important for my mental health, too, to feel that I’m competitive when I’m ready to play.”

Nadal has enjoyed plenty of success at this event, having won twice (2007, 2012) and finished runner-up in 2011. While some people refer to this tournament as “the fifth Grand Slam,” Nadal said he believes the rich history of the event is worthy of being recognised on its own.

“This tournament is important enough to stand on its own name,” said Nadal. “I love not being in a big city and the calm we have out here in the desert. I love the views and the organisation here is one of the best.

There’s a crowd wherever Roger Federer plays and the BNP Paribas Open is no exception.

From his practises to simply walking around the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, he’s surrounded by fans offering well-wishes or asking for autographs. Having won this event five times (2004-2006, 2012, 2017) and in position to snatch the record he shares with Novak Djokovic by adding a sixth crown, it’s easy to understand why.

But while the 100-time ATP Tour singles champion has a celebrity status at this event, he doesn’t see himself that way.

“People always elevate superstar athletes to a status like we’re superhuman, but you get to meet them and realise he’s just another normal guy. It just happens that he does great in what he does,” said Federer. “Being perfect doesn’t exist. Everybody has their flaws and so do I. But if I can make the game more popular, be good for fans or have them enjoy the sport more through me, then that’s great.”

Federer is the fourth seed this year and is making his 18th main draw appearance at this event. Apart from undergoing knee surgery in 2016, he has remained free of major injuries for more than 20 years. Smart scheduling has played a crucial role in prolonging his career, but Federer has also made recovery efforts as much of a priority as his on-court practise sessions.

“The most important thing for any athlete is understanding your own body. Knowing what is pain and what is injury pain, what could result in an injury, being able to play through that many times…but then also knowing when to step off the gas and give yourself a break,” said Federer. “Then there’s having enough sleep, eating the right food, recovery, knowing the schedule…it all helps. At the end of the day, you need to have smart people around you who are educated in that way and you have to buy into that idea. Some of it is genetics, too, and then you still need luck.”

The Swiss star hasn’t had much chance to celebrate capturing his 100th ATP Tour title last week at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (d. Tsitsipas). Although Federer has always been one to look ahead and will be eager to add to his ATP Tour title collection in the desert, he allowed himself the chance to assess the historic moment on the long-haul trip from Dubai to Indian Wells.

“What I like about [the 100th title] is that it gives some time to reflect on these great moments and great titles that are all important to me,” said Federer. “It’s an achievement I never thought I’d make and something I only started thinking about in the past nine months. When you get to No. 98, No. 99, you start to think it’d be a pity to retire without hitting 100. It was nice to get there on the first attempt in a final.”