Indian Wells Is Picking Up the Pace

Work is proceeding for tennis tournament officials in the desert on a two-pronged basis--preparation for the upcoming Evert Cup and Newsweek’s Champions Cup at Indian Wells and construction for the 2000 tournament at a new site not far down the road.

Organizers simply can’t slow the pace at either venue--competition at one and construction at the other. Because the two tournaments are moving, there are no major changes for this year’s event. There will be some increased seating at the outside courts, officials said.

The women’s event, the Evert Cup, starts with main-draw play on Friday. With the late addition of Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna, the singles draw in the women’s tournament includes 17 of the world’s top 20 players.

Venus Williams, an Indian Wells semifinalist last year, is playing only doubles with her sister Serena. French Open champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario withdrew last week because of a wrist injury, and Australian Open finalist Amelie Mauresmo did not enter.

The men start main-draw play March 8 and the field includes the top 30 players in the world. Defending champion Marcelo Rios, however, is questionable as he withdrew from this week’s event at Scottsdale, Ariz. Rios pulled out of the Australian Open before his first match because of a small stress fracture in his lower back and has not played since.

The combined prize money for the tournaments is $3.75 million, and there will be coverage on ESPN and ESPN2.

Wild-card entries will be announced within a few days, and among the stronger candidates for spots are Jim Courier, Justin Gimelstob and Australian Open semifinalist Nicolas Lapentti. Another candidate, Australian youngster Lleyton Hewitt, made a big splash in his country in January, reaching the final at Adelaide and upsetting 13th-seeded Cedric Pioline in the first round at Melbourne.