Novak Djokovic, grand slam, Australian Open, Fernando Verdasco, first round
Novak DjokovicReuters

Former World No 1 Novak Djokovic is still awaiting his first tennis crown of the calendar year 2017. Will the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells be his first major title of the year? That remains to be seen as Djokovic clashes sword with Nick Kyrgios in the round of 16 of the competition on Wednesday.

On the same day, we will witness a repeat of the Australian Open 2017 men's singles final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic might be entering the match at the back of a stunning 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 victory over Juan Martin del Potro on Tuesday night but the battle against Kyrgios will be a very tough challenge for the Serbian.

Kyrgios, 21, already recorded a shock straight-sets victory over the 29-year-old at the ATP Acapulco 2017 tennis tournament in Mexico last month. The Australian enters this match at the back of a 6-3, 6-4 win against Alexander Zverev, who was defeated by Rafael Nadal in third round of Australian Open 2017.

"I lost to Nick in Acapulco and he was serving extremely well. I'm hoping I can get a better result," remained the message from Djokovic ahead of the match.

Djokovic vs Kyrgios: Head to head

Total meetings: 1; Kyrgios with a straight sets win

Match schedule

Date: March 15

Time: 3 pm local time onwards (6 pm EST, 10 pm GMT, 3:30 am IST [Thursday])

Venue: Indian Wells, California

Where to watch live

India: TV: Sony ESPN, ESPN HD. Live Streaming: Sony Liv

US: TV: Tennis Channel: Live Streaming: Tennis Channel Live

UK: TV: Sky Sports 1: Live Streaming: Sky Go

International live streaming: ATP official website

Live score: BNP Paribas Open website.