Indian Wells Week 1 Recap: Drama in the desert

Before the first ball was even struck at the BNP Paribas Open, it was already going to be a tournament to remember, thanks mainly to the "Group of Death" men's quarter of the draw.

Here’s a look back at some of the newsworthy items from the past week.

After a near-perfect start to the year with an Australian Open win and a return to the No. 1 ranking, it was expected that Serena Williams’ would continue her winning ways in Indian Wells this year. However, she had to pull out of the tournament before it even began.

This means that Angelique Kerber will be back on top of the WTA rankings after the tournament.

Williams’ counterpart on the men’s side, top seed Andy Murray, wasn’t around that long himself. The world No. 1 lost his first match against Canadian qualifer Vasek Pospisil in straight sets. It’s the second time this year Murray’s fallen to someone that relies heavily on serve-and-volley tactics.

Just imagine a quarter of a draw that featured Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro, with Nick Kyrgios and Alex Zverev thrown in for good measure. That’s what happened this week in Indian Wells, making for one of the toughest sections the game has ever known. So far, those players seem to be navigating it successfully to set up some intriguing second-week matchups.

Two Americans that have won titles this year—Ryan Harrison and Sam Querrey—lost early at the first Masters 1000 event of 2017. Harrison didn’t go quietly, while Querrey fell to compatriot Donald Young, who’s been playing some of the best tennis of his career.

Taylor Fritz, one of the brightest and youngest hopes among U.S. men, notched the biggest win of his  career by knocking out the sixth-seeded Marin Cilic in the second round.

After Serena Williams withdrew, the tournament became a little more open and many of the top contenders have safely moved on. However, it hasn’t been easy sailing: Karolina Pliskova, Garbine Muguruza and Dominika Cibulkova all had to rally from being a set down in third-round matches.

Venus Williams might’ve been the one to pull the ultimate escape act, saving three match points against Jelena Jankovic—and continuing her recent streak of crowd-pleasing on-court interviews.