By Erin Bruehl, USTA.com

The first mini-major of the season begins this week with the 2010 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., where almost all of the top players in the world will be competing. The women’s main draw begins on Wednesday, March 10, and the men’s main draw begins Thursday, March 11, with both finals scheduled for Sunday, March 21. Here are a few storylines to watch as the next week and a half progresses:

Storylines on the men’s side:

Long layoffs for top players: Now the middle of March, it has been six weeks since Roger Federer played his last match and even longer for Rafael Nadal, who retired in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open against Andy Murray. Besides the question of rust is the question of health for both players. The most pressing health concern is Nadal’s knee injury (a new tear, not a recurrence of his tendinitis last year) that forced his retirement in Australia and which his team announced would keep him out for four weeks. Indian Wells, where he is the defending champion, will be his return to hardcourts, and playing in back-to-back tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami will surely test that knee. Federer, on the other hand, has been resting as he battles a lung infection and said when he pulled out of Dubai in February that he anticipated being back for Indian Wells, where he is a three-time champion. His last time on the court was his 16th Grand Slam win in Melbourne over Murray. At No. 1 in the world, he has a three thousand point lead over No. 2 Novak Djokovic.

Carrying momentum: With his five-set victory over John Isner on Sunday, Novak Djokovic put Serbia into the Davis Cup World Group Quarterfinals for the first time in its history. Serbia defeated the U.S. in Belgrade 3-2 behind two singles victories from Djokovic, who also defeated Sam Querrey. The Davis Cup milestone also followed on the heels of Djokovic’s tournament win in Dubai. He ascended to his highest career ranking spot – No. 2 – right after the Australian Open and has stayed there since. It seems everything is working the Serb’s way heading into Indian Wells, where he was the 2008 champion.

Who’s missing: Almost all of the top players in the world on the men’s side will be there for this mini-major, with one huge exception in 2009 US Open champion and world No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro. Del Potro is suffering from wrist tendinitis, which has bothered him for months and also kept him out of Argentina’s first-round Davis Cup tie against Sweden this past weekend. Also missing is No. 10 Fernando Gonzalez, who instead is helping in relief efforts to aide Chile, his home country, recover from the recent devastating earthquake and tsunami.


Storylines on the women’s side:

Wide open field: Whenever Serena Williams is not in the mix, it always leaves the women’s field wide open, with multiple players having a shot to win the title without the game’s most dominating player in the draw. Will Kim Clijsters rebound from her lopsided Australian Open loss to Nadia Petrova to win her third Indian Wells crown? Justine Henin is back this year, as well, given a wild card into the tournament, where she was the 2004 champion. Elena Dementieva has already won two titles this year, while Victoria Azarenka has had a strong start, as well, having played three tournaments with one final (most recently in Dubai), one semifinal and one quarterfinal appearance – at the Australian Open. Svetlana Kuznetsova and Caroline Wozniacki are seeking their first titles of 2010, and also count 2006 winner Maria Sharapova in the mix as the recent champion in Memphis. Vera Zvonareva, ranked No. 14, is the defending champion, with one title to her credit so far in 2010.

Potential comeback: Ana Ivanovic said last week at the BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden that the exhibition was great for her to get some playing time in against top players before Indian Wells. It also allowed her to put into a match some of the things she is working on with her new coach Heinz Gunthardt to return to the form she had in 2008, when she won the French Open and was No. 1 in the world (as well as the Indian Wells champion).

“Even in the past 10 days I could see progress,” Ivanovic said after the Showdown of her time with Gunthardt. “It was a great test, and it is great to see results in this way. Going back for almost two weeks of practice before playing a match in Indian Wells is going to be really good to work on a few other things.

“I was always an aggressive player, but I started to defend a lot more, my balls were not coming the same way they came before, and obviously my serve got a little bit off, which caused a lot frustration on the court,” she added of what she is working on. “My main goal is to get enjoyment back and know what I am doing when I step on the court. (At the Showdown) I saw a lot of positive things – being more aggressive again, striking the ball much better – and that is very encouraging.”

Who’s missing: The No. 1, No. 2 and No. 5 players in the world are all not here. Serena and Venus Williams continue to bypass the tournament because of an incident back in 2001 and have not played Indian Wells since. The world No. 2, Dinara Safina, is also out as she deals with a back injury that has bothered her since the end of 2009 and also forced her retirement in the fourth round of the Australian Open. When she pulled out of Dubai last month, she said she hoped to be healthy enough for Indian Wells but is not in the draw.