Murray is seeded to face in-form Roddick in the fourth round before a possible quarter-final meeting with world number one Federer.

Murray took his head-to-head record with Federer to 2-1 by beating the Swiss in the first round in Dubai - a tournament Roddick won.

Federer will look to get his season back on track after losing in the Australian Open semi-finals to Novak Djokovic before that defeat by Murray.

The 12-times Grand Slam champion has blamed his below-par performances on a virus but claims he is now back to full fitness.

Federer, who along with all 32 seeds has a bye in the first round, faces Argentine Sergio Roitman or Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain in his opening match.

The 26-year-old Federer will be looking for a good run in California to re-establish himself at the top of the world rankings.

Rafael Nadal has closed to within 350 points of the top spot, the smallest margin Federer has led by since May 2004.

Nadal could face an intriguing rematch with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the third round in Indian Wells.

Frenchman Tsonga blew away Nadal in straight sets on his way to the Australian Open final.

Among the leading contenders in the women's competition, starting on Wednesday, are Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova and world number two Ana Ivanovic of Serbia.

Third-ranked Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova and Serbia's Jelena Jankovic, the world number four, are also taking part.

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